Pep Guardiola’s next transfer priority crystal clear as Man City avoid FA Cup humbling

Manchester City avoided an embarrassing FA Cup exit astatine the hands of Leyton Orient aft Kevin De Bruyne erstwhile again showed his value by scoring the victor successful a comeback victory

Sit him down, springiness him a pen, manus him a caller declaration and don’t fto him permission the country until he’s signed it.

On a grim lunchtime successful eastbound London, Kevin De Bruyne sprang from the seat to spare Pep Guardiola’s blushes arsenic Manchester City survived an almighty scare. And if determination was immoderate uncertainty before, determination tin beryllium nary now: De Bruyne’s sorcery is arsenic important to City arsenic Mo Salah’s goals to Liverpool.

For the champion portion of an hour, City were successful information of suffering different FA Cup embarrassment against League One minnows similar their fifth-round upset astatine Wigan 8 years ago. They needed a fluke equaliser earlier De Bruyne threw disconnected his superhero’s cape and scored the victor to reconstruct the smirk to City superfan Noel Gallagher’s face.

There had not been truthful overmuch excitement on the Leyton High Road since Jonathan Tehoue’s 89th-minute equaliser against Arsenal successful 2011 earned the O’s a 5th circular replay and sent erstwhile proprietor Barry Hearn into giddy raptures astatine the imaginable of an other £1 cardinal successful Cup receipts.

And it wasn’t misplaced. Orient were magnificent. For president Nigel Travis, erstwhile the main enforcement of Dunkin’ Donuts successful Britain, it was a throwback to a puerility excursion to Maine Road with his begetter successful 1964.

Once they had picked their mode connected ft done the municipality maze of Moss Side, Orient mislaid 6-0. This time, it was overmuch closer. On City’s archetypal sojourn to Brisbane Road since 1966 - a celebrated twelvemonth for English shot due to the fact that they won promotion to the apical formation - Richie Welllens’ League One high-flyers were determined to marque the astir of it.

Before kick-off they paraded Tehoue for an encore, and connected the balconies of apartments overlooking the Gaughan Group stadium connected each 4 corners, determination was lasting country lone for freeloaders.

City messiah Guardiola made 8 changes but inactive enactment retired a beardown side, including caller singings Omar Marmoush, Vitor Reis and Nico Gonzalez. And successful cor blimey country, City should person made beingness easier for themselves wrong 10 minutes arsenic Ilkay Gundogan shovelled a elemental accidental wide from 8 yards from Savinho’s bobbling cross.

Orient made Gundogan wage six minutes aboriginal with 1 of the large FA Cup goals to marque the windows rattle successful those apartments with a privileged view. Spotting Stefan Ortega disconnected his line, Jamie Donley scooped a cleanable spot from 50 yards which bounced down disconnected the barroom and was bundled implicit the enactment by the backpedalling City keeper.

Officially, it was debited an an Ortega ain goal, but each the plaudits spell to the 20-year-old midfielder connected indebtedness from Tottenham. For sheer audacity, Donley deserved each the glory - and the setback came with a sting successful the process for the blessed Pep.

Gonzalez, a £50 cardinal constituent of City’s £175m January model trolley dash, was injured arsenic City coughed up possession and retired wounded 20 minutes into his debut. In truth, Gonzalez was bundled implicit by Sonny Perkins successful the build-up, and VAR would astir apt person intervened to spoil our fun.

But successful the lack of interfering jobsworths and the bane of football, City’s protests to referee Darren Bond fell connected deaf ears. “You’re getting sacked successful the morning,” trolled the East extremity choir arsenic Guardiola - pumped 5-1 connected his past sojourn to the superior six days earlier astatine Arsenal - bristled connected the touchline.

As if to beryllium helium is conscionable arsenic proficient doing the chores arsenic good arsenic celebratory knee-slides, Donley made a important goal-line clearance to contradict Bernardo Silva an equaliser. Then Josh Keeley, who scored Orient’s last-gasp equaliser against Oldham successful the 2nd round, someway kept retired Marmoush’s volley from Savinho’s transverse successful first-half added time.

And erstwhile Orient brag Wellens near his spot successful the directors’ container to nonstop operations astatine crushed level, the location broadside were daring to imagination a occurrence was possible. But conscionable erstwhile City needed a changeable of luck, outrageous luck gave Pep a helping manus 11 minutes into the 2nd half.

Keeley had Rico Lewis’s 20-yard changeable covered, but it took a monolithic deflection disconnected Abdukodir Khusanov, who was turning his back, and stranded the Orient keeper. Marmoush felt helium should person been awarded a punishment aft being wiped retired by Jack Simpson, and with bully reason, but 11 minutes from clip City’s persistence was rewarded.

Jack Grealish spent overmuch disconnected the day turning backmost into postulation and moving up dormant ends, but his superb shot done the wrong near transmission recovered De Bruyne breaking the bladed reddish enactment and helium teased a neat, dinked decorativeness beyond the gallant Keeley.

If it was a slayer blow, Orient - brave, blustering Orient - refused to curl up their toes. They deserved to instrumentality a riveting Cup necktie to other times and Dan Happe’s volley narrowly implicit the apical came adjacent to forcing a 30-minute sequel, but De Bruyne’s interaction of people proved decisive.

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