{"id":1375705,"date":"2025-03-01T19:40:34","date_gmt":"2025-03-01T19:40:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?p=1375705"},"modified":"2025-03-01T20:19:10","modified_gmt":"2025-03-01T20:19:10","slug":"fa-cup-fifth-round-things-missed-man-city-cunha","status":"publish","type":"features","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/fa-cup-fifth-round-things-missed-man-city-cunha\/","title":{"rendered":"Six things you might have missed from Saturday’s FA Cup action as Man City avoid scare"},"content":{"rendered":"

Manchester City<\/a>‘s quest for FA Cup<\/a> glory in 2024-25 continued as they beat Plymouth Argyle 3-1 to reach the quarter-finals.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It wasn’t easy for Pep Guardiola’s side, as they had to come from behind against Plymouth, who had knocked Liverpool<\/a> out in the previous round.<\/p>\n

The game at the Etihad was one of four to take place on Saturday, and one of two all-Premier League<\/a> ties. There was also an all-Championship<\/a> clash and a London derby between the Premier League and the Championship.<\/p>\n

So, what went down?<\/p>\n

[dugoutvideo id=”eyJrZXkiOiIiLCJwIjoic3F1YXdrYSIsInBsIjoiVGtJdmU0eXoifQ==” partner=”squawka”]<\/p>\n

Set-pieces and O’Reilly get Man City over the line<\/h2>\n

It was a game of set pieces at the Etihad between Man City and Plymouth. And it was Man City who took the win, thanks to teenager Nico O’Reilly.<\/p>\n

Plymouth took the lead in the 38th minute thanks to Maksym Talovierov’s expert header, beating James McAtee in to the air and placing his effort into the far top corner. That was Plymouth’s first and only corner of the game.<\/p>\n

Man City, on the other hand, had 20. But while their first goal didn’t come from a corner, it did come from a set piece. It was a free-kick out wide with Kevin De Bruyne over the ball, just before half-time. The Belgian sent in an excellent cross into the box for O’Reilly to finish with a lovely glancing header. His second senior goal for Man City, O’Reilly couldn’t celebrate this one too much as his side still have to get ahead.<\/p>\n

But he could certainly celebrate when he scored his second header, this time from a corner. There was quite a bit of controversy surrounding the goal. Firstly, Plymouth didn’t believe it should have been a corner, and then they protested that O’Reilly had fouled his marker before heading home. Nothing could be done about the former, and VAR didn’t feel the latter was a foul.<\/p>\n

It was a good display from the teenager, who was playing in defence once again despite being a more attacking midfielder.<\/p>\n

An afternoon to forget for Tanganga<\/h2>\n

There was a London derby at Selhurst Park as Crystal Palace<\/a> hosted Championship side Millwall. And it was full of action, with Palace ending up 3-1 winners. They had a bit of help from Millwall defender Japhet Tanganga too.<\/p>\n

The former Tottenham Hotspur<\/a> centre-back was unfortunately involved in both of Palace’s first-half goals, which looked to put the tie beyond doubt early on. His first involvement was an own goal, with a mistimed\/mis-placed headed clearance going into his own net. The ball into the box from Will Hughes was a good one, but Tanganga was unopposed and should have steered his header out for a corner, not into the side netting.<\/p>\n

While that was closer to an error, there was a big stroke of misfortune for Tanganga in Palace’s second goal. This time he was just the man to essentially play in Daniel Munoz, after a poor challenge from one of his teammates rebounded off Tanganga. There was an offside check by VAR, who confirmed that it was indeed Tanganga who had the final touch — from a Millwall clearance — before Munoz.<\/p>\n

It was a busy afternoon for Tanganga defensively, with the Millwall man winning four of his 10 aerial duels, and making six clearances.<\/p>\n

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Eddie Nketiah takes his chance<\/h2>\n

Eddie Nketiah started the win on the bench, but came on in the 15th minute for Jean-Philippe Mateta, who suffered a bad injury at the hands of Millwall goalkeeper Liam Roberts. Nketiah has been made to wait for game time at Palace this season since his \u00a325million move from Arsenal<\/a>, with less than 1,000 minutes across all competitions.<\/p>\n

He has started three of Palace’s five cup games, scoring three goals. In fact, 75% of Nketiah’s goals for the Eagles have come in cup competitions. His first Premier League goal of the season only came in midweek, as Nketiah put the gloss on the 4-1 win over Aston Villa<\/a>, despite playing just a few minutes.<\/p>\n

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The goal against Millwall came through sheer perseverance. Nketiah had five shots at Selhurst Park, more than any other player for each side. He was also the only player on the pitch to record more than one shot on target (two).<\/p>\n

As you’d expect, Nketiah also led the game for Expected Goals (0.94) and xG on Target (0.82) — though obviously his shot placement could do with a bit of improvement.<\/p>\n

Burnley’s defence take a break<\/h2>\n

It was guaranteed that there would be at least one Championship side in the FA Cup quarter-finals, it was just a matter of who. Preston North End hosted Lancashire rivals Burnley, two weeks on from their goalless draw in the league. Both sides would have fancied their chances, but on paper Preston had the tougher ask against a rigid Burnley defence.<\/p>\n

Before the game on Saturday, Burnley hadn’t conceded in 853 minutes across all competitions, since their 1-3 away win over Reading in the third round of the FA Cup. A run of nine straight clean sheets followed, including their 0-1 away win over Southampton<\/a> in the FA Cup fourth round.<\/p>\n

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Preston North End have reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup for the first time since 1966. <\/p>\n

They've waited a long time for this moment.? pic.twitter.com\/on8TW7jURn<\/a><\/p>\n

— Squawka (@Squawka) March 1, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n