As introductions to English football go, this was about as unceremonious as it gets. Two of Manchester City’s four midseason signings made their debuts in Saturday’s 2-1 FA Cup fourth-round win at League One minnows Leyton Orient. Nico Gonzalez lasted 22 minutes before injury struck and Vitor Reis was taken off at half-time.
It was in part a testament to Orient’s tenacity and defiance which at one stage put them on course for one of the all-time great Cup shocks, having already produced one of the all-time great Cup goals.
Jamie Donley’s stunning 45-yard effort will go into the record books as a Stefan Ortega own goal, given City’s goalkeeper had the final touch as the Orient forward’s long-range strike hit the crossbar. But it’s Donley name that will go down as providing the moment that will last a lifetime in the minds of all 8,749 fans who crammed into the Gaughan Group Stadium on a wet and cold day in east London.
City were adamant that Gonzalez, a £50 million deadline-day signing from FC Porto, was fouled by Charlie Kelman moments before to turn over possession to Donley, but manager Pep Guardiola had a simple message for his new acquisition afterwards: “Welcome to the Premier League and the referees.”
Said Guardiola: “Maybe he knew about the referees, because I understand it’s not easy. It’s not easy to do something when you play against teams like in League One. You have to live that. My first away game was against Stoke, a long time ago. I realised immediately what was the Premier League.”
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Leyton Orient take shock early lead vs. Man City with stunning goal
Jamie Donley’s strike from 45 yards hits the bar and bounces into the net off Manchester City keeper Stefan Ortega.
It is a lesson Gonzalez, Reis and the rest must learn quickly. Real Madrid will hardly be trembling with fear when they watch this ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League knockout playoff round first leg at Etihad Stadium.
City may have got the job done — through an equaliser from Abdukodir Khusanov which he knew nothing about, with a Rico Lewis shot deflecting in off his back, and a well-worked winner from another substitute, Kevin De Bruyne — but there was little to recommend them beyond their perseverance as Orient made them look ordinary for long periods.
City entered the market knowing they need an immediate bounce from their new arrivals. It is a difficult ask for any player in the middle of a season but with an outlay of £180m comes instant expectation.
Instead, Guardiola was left to curate the game-time of his new players in a different way. Put simply, Reis was withdrawn at the break because City were down 1-0.
“The plan was Ruben [Dias to play] for 45 minutes after his injury and I didn’t want to bring two new players playing at the same time with that result,” Guardiola explained. “It was too much risk. I want one alongside with experience, either Ruben or John [Stones].”
Khusanov has steadied himself a little after a calamitous debut against Chelsea last month but the 20-year-old is still undeniably raw. After he conceded a free kick with a rash challenge when the score was 1-1, Guardiola kicked the side of the dugout in frustration.
Omar Marmoush, City’s fourth January signing, was one of City’s brighter players, constantly probing for an opening while Savinho and Jack Grealish carried a threat out wide.
But Orient, inspired by their two loanees from Spurs in Donley and goalkeeper Josh Keeley, fought, hassled and harried their way to rival City until De Bruyne’s intervention 11 minutes from time.
There was still one last scare — Dan Happe met a 90th-minute free kick at the back post but could only steer his left-footed shot off target — but City held on.
In customary FA Cup style, Guardiola had been the pantomime villain all afternoon. The team bus arrived to chants of “City get battered everywhere they go” while Guardiola was targeted by gleeful Orient fans as their team threatened an almighty upset.
“When they say ‘you are going to get sacked in the morning’ …,” he said. “But it is a routine in all the stadiums right now, Still, with this result I think my chairman is not going to sack me tomorrow.
“It was really good. I don’t know if in League One, in every single game the vibe is like this, but it’s really good. You come to enjoy the football, the locker room is so tight. The players can talk even more than in a normal locker room. But I said many times to the players: ‘we came from here.’
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Sub Kevin De Bruyne scores winner as Man City avoid upset
Kevin De Bruyne’s clever finish gives Manchester City the lead at Leyton Orient in the FA Cup.
“We didn’t warm up at 16, 17, 18 years old and go to Wembley. We were born in these locker rooms. Especially when you play in the lower divisions, I like the way the team behaves, because how many surprises have there been in the FA Cup, in the long history of this competition?”
City did not add to that list on Saturday, but they also did not silence concerns they are over their slump either.
“Now of course our position is a little bit unstable emotionally; we have conceded a lot of injuries and that’s why going through with this result makes me so proud and so happy,” Guardiola said.
Improvement is needed. Reis was not registered for the Champions League knockouts, but Marmoush, Khusanov and Gonzalez were. Orient provided a reminder here how necessary it will be to hit the ground running against Real Madrid and not leave a mountain to climb at the Bernabeu on Feb. 19.
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