Soccer

FA Cup: Manchester City survive wonder goal to advance, Ipswich and Bournemouth through

City beat Leyton Orient 2-1 at Brisbane Road

Kevin De Bruyne scores Manchester City's second goal against Leyton Orient. Photograph: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
Kevin De Bruyne scores Manchester City's second goal against Leyton Orient. Photograph: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
Sat Feb 08 2025 - 22:34

Manchester City needed a late Kevin De Bruyne winner to beat third-tier Leyton Orient in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday after falling behind to a goal that will become part of the folklore of the world’s oldest knockout competition.

Jamie Donley’s shot from just inside the City half which went in off the back of City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega had threatened a massive Cup shock, but the Premier League champions edged through as De Bruyne netted a late winner.

Meanwhile, the Premier League’s bottom club Southampton lost 1-0 at home to Championship promotion hopefuls Burnley but fellow strugglers Ipswich Town enjoyed a confidence-boosting 4-1 victory at second-tier Coventry City managed by Frank Lampard.

Bournemouth’s fine season continued as the won 2-0 at Everton in an all-Premier League clash while Fulham moved through to round five by beating third-tier Wigan Athletic 2-1 with Rodrigo Muniz scoring both goals for the London club.

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Donley, a 20-year-old forward on loan from Tottenham, ended up on the losing side but he provided the standout moment of the fourth round.

With 16 minutes on the clock at a raucous Brisbane Road, he noticed Ortega off his line and launched a shot from just inside City’s half that went in via the crossbar and the keeper’s back.

City, who gave debuts to Nico Gonzalez and Vitor Reis and included the likes of Ruben Dias, Jack Grealish, Ilkay Gundogan and Savinho in their line-up, took until the 56th minute to level when Abdukodir Khusanov deflected in a Rico Lewis shot.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola during the FA Cup fourth round match against Leyton Orient. Photograph: Richard Pelham/Getty Images
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola during the FA Cup fourth round match against Leyton Orient. Photograph: Richard Pelham/Getty Images

De Bruyne and Phil Foden came of the bench and it was Belgian playmaker De Bruyne who clipped in City’s winner to the obvious relief of their manager Pep Guardiola.

“They’re a really, really good team, incredibly well managed, but we created a lot of chances. They created chances too, especially through long balls and second balls,” said Guardiola, who has won two FA Cups with City.

“The first 10-15 minutes we struggled when they attacked the channels. It was really hard but after their fantastic goal, we took control of the game.”

Marcus Edwards scored on his Burnley debut as Southampton’s woes continued. The forward joined from Sporting on loan on deadline day and made an instant impact, grabbing the winner 18 minutes after coming off the bench.

Ipswich reached the fifth round for the first time since 2007 despite making 11 changes to their side at Coventry.

George Hirst put Ipswich ahead with a penalty before Joel Latibeaudiere levelled but Jack Clarke’s double put the visitors in control before halftime and Jaden Philogene wrapped it up after the break.

Championship leaders Leeds United were surprisingly beaten 2-0 at home by Millwall.

Everton’s defeat by Bournemouth, for whom Antoine Semenyo scored a penalty and Daniel Jebbison doubled the lead, was the last FA Cup tie at Goodison Park before they move out of their home since 1892 to their new Bramley-Moore Dock home.

Holders Manchester United beat Leicester City on Friday, and in Saturday’s late games Brighton beat Chelsea 2-1 and Newcastle got a 3-2 away win over Birmingham.