Leyton Orient 1-2 Man City: Player ratings as De Bruyne strike spares blushes
- Man City narrowly beat Leyton Orient 2-1 on Saturday in the FA Cup fourth round
- Kevin De Bruyne scored winner to secure nervy comeback win
- Stefan Ortega own goal had seen League One side take the lead
Manchester City were made to work incredibly hard for their 2-1 FA Cup fourth round victory over the spirited Leyton Orient on Saturday lunchtime.
Despite naming a strong lineup at Brisbane Road, the Cityzens made a nightmare start against the League One outfit. Jamie Donley's remarkable long-range lob bounced off the crossbar and the back of Stefan Ortega as Orient took the lead, with the German goalkeeper awarded an unwanted own goal.
Donley turned hero at the other end in the closing stages of the first half as he cleared off the line from Bernardo Silva, with Omar Marmoush also testing goalkeeper Josh Keeley from close range. But Orient held firm to take an unexpected one-goal cushion into the break.
That advantage evaporated just ten minutes after the restart, however, with fortune favouring the Manchester giants. Rico Lewis' strike from distance took a lucky deflection off the head of half-time substitute Abdukodir Khusanov before nestling into the corner of Keeley's goal.
James McAtee struck the post as City searched for a winning goal, which they eventually found through Kevin De Bruyne. The Belgian maestro rose from the bench to spare his side's blushes, prodding delicately beyond Keeley following an excellent Jack Grealish through ball.
City would have wanted a more comfortable afternoon ahead of their midweek duel with Real Madrid in the Champions League, but they showed their character to secure a place in the FA Cup fifth round regardless.
Man City player ratings (4-2-3-1)
Player | Rating |
|---|---|
GK: Stefan Ortega | 7.0/10 |
RB: Rico Lewis | 8.2/10 |
CB: Vitor Reis | 6.7/10 |
CB: Ruben Dias | 6.7/10 |
LB: Nico O'Reilly | 7.6/10 |
DM: Nico Gonzalez | 5.9/10 |
DM: Ilkay Gundogan | 7.9/10 |
RW: Savinho | 7.1/10 |
AM: James McAtee | 6.8/10 |
LW: Jack Grealish | 8.1/10 |
ST: Omar Marmoush | 7.5/10 |
SUB: Bernardo Silva (22' for Gonzalez) | 6.6/10 |
SUB: John Stones (46' for Dias) | 6.6/10 |
SUB: Abdukodir Khusanov (46' for Reis) | 7.7/10 |
SUB: Kevin De Bruyne (72' for O'Reilly) | 7.1/10 |
SUB: Phil Foden (72' for McAtee) | 6.1/10 |
Subs not used: Scott Carson (GK), Manuel Akanji, Matheus Nunes, Divin Mubama.
Player of the match - Rico Lewis (Man City)
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