Argyle adventure ends at the Etihad

Whatever happens in the remainder of Plymouth Argyle’s fight for Championship survival, the Pilgrims will take some wonderful memories with them at the end of this campaign.

After the stunning 1-0 win over Premier League leaders Liverpool in the previous round, which only happened because of another impressive victory at Brentford, Argyle travelled en-masse to face the might of Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.

City’s struggles in the Premier League and early exit from the Champions League have been well documented this season but this is still a side containing some of the finest footballers of the current generation.

And most of all, Manchester City need to win the FA Cup to avoid a rare trophyless campaign under the stewardship of iconic manager Pep Guardiola, hence the strong team selection that included the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish, Phil Foden, Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva. Even some fella called Erling Haaland came off the bench.

Despite the brutal odds, Argyle were backed by the sensational support of the Green Army and new Head Coach Miron Muslic has breathed new resilience into the Pilgrims.

Argyle set up with an understandably defensive formation, limiting spaces and gaps for their illustrious hosts, and the gameplan worked perfectly for the vast majority of the first half.

The dream was on for Argyle when, on 38 minutes, a corner from Matty Sorinola picked out the rising Maksym Talovierov for a steered header into the back of a famous net.

Manchester City 0 Plymouth Argyle 1

The next objective was to reach half-time with their lead intact and the Greens so nearly did it but a sumptuous free-kick from De Bruyne was met by the head of Nico O’Reilly, and the scores were level.

After the break, Argyle were pegged back by a City team now playing with real purpose and quality. Conor Hazard made a top double save to thwart Haaland and Silva, while Gundogan struck the woodwork.

The Pilgrims reached 77 minutes still level but it was the head of O’Reilly that again rescued City, this time nodding in a deep Foden corner. Argyle kept going, the Green Army kept roaring but City had the final word, De Bruyne sliding home a decisive third in stoppage time.

“We can only be disappointed with the result but very proud of our performance,” said Muslic. “We gave Manchester City a game, a proper game, and they are one of the best teams in the world, coached by the best coach in this sport.

“We had an excellent gameplan and the lads executed that with the structure and discipline you need to survive here. They showed the passion and the heart that has been with us for the past nine weeks, and also tactical discipline.

“We knew there would be lots of moments, similar to Liverpool, where we would have to defend but also moments we can escape and be dangerous. We tried everything and I’m very proud we gave Manchester City a challenge.”