Man City have found a new superstar in 8/10 gem who outclassed KDB & McAtee

Manchester City are safely through to the FA Cup quarter-finals thanks to a 3-1 win at home to Championship strugglers Plymouth Argyle.

This game had the potential to be a tricky one to navigate for the Citizens given the Pilgrims knocked out Premier League leaders Liverpool in the previous round.

As it happened, the visitors took the lead at the Etihad Stadium. It was a poor goal to concede from City’s point of view, as Argyle centre-back Maksym Talovierov found himself unmarked from a corner and rose highest to head home.

However, City did not have to wait too long for their equaliser. Youngster Nico O’Reilly levelled the game back up in first-half stoppage-time and got himself a second to give City the lead with 15 minutes left.

Pep Guardiola’s men sealed their place in the next round thanks to a goal from Kevin De Bruyne. The Belgian, who put in an impressive performance, ran onto a through ball from talismanic striker Erling Haaland and poked home from just inside the six-yard box.

It was a professional performance on the whole from the Citizens, although one player who struggled at times was youngster James McAtee.

James McAtee’s stats v Plymouth

Make no mistake, McAtee’s performance was by no means a poor one. However, the City ace, who operated in the No 10 role against the Championship outfit, did not really have a big influence on the game.

That said, this was not through lack of effort. The midfielder, who was substituted on the hour mark for Haaland, worked incredibly hard, but simply struggled to get into the game.

McAtee’s stats from the game on Sofascore show just how tough of a match it was for him. The 22-year-old had just 35 touches, although he did manage to create two chances in that time.

Joe Krishnan, a journalist for The Express, gave the attacking midfielder a post-match rating of 6/10 for his efforts. He explained that he “looked bright in the early stages” and was “recognised with a warm ovation” upon his substitution.

It was certainly a mixed night for McAtee, although the same cannot be said for another City academy star who didn’t just outclass the academy graduate but also the great De Bruyne.

The Man City player who thrived most vs Plymouth

It was an excellent evening for Nico O’Reilly. The youngster has now played nine times for the first team this season following his performance against the Pilgrims, and has impressed with his ability on the ball and versatility.

On Saturday night, the youngster started at left-back, but he has also played at centre-back, across the midfield and even as a No 9 this term, which is certainly handy for Guardiola to rely on.

His goals were impressive, too. Both were headers from set-pieces, with the first a glancing effort from a De Bruyne cross that the goalkeeper got a hand to, but nothing more. O’Reilly’s was teed up by Phil Foden for his second, scoring with a towering effort at the back post from a corner.

The youngster’s stats from the game showed how big his influence was. He had 90 touches and completed 89% of his passes. The City left-back also made one clearance and one interception.

Krishnan highlighted that O’Reilly had to grow into the game, pointing out that he “initially struggled to make the same impact” as Josko Gvardiol in an attacking sense. However, he gave him an 8/10 for what was ultimately a decisive performance.

O’Reilly is certainly an exciting talent and really feels like the future feature of the Citizens team for the coming years.

His ability to play anywhere required of him on the pitch and his capability of finding the net is extremely useful.

The 19-year-old has certainly not done his future first-team chances any harm after Saturday’s showing. Perhaps City will get used to the sight of him donning that famous sky blue shirt with Haaland and co on a more regular basis.

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