Manchester City survived an almighty scare from League Two side in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday, as Pep Guardiola’s side erased an 80th-minute deficit by scoring three times in the final 13 minutes to advance to the fifth round.
[ FA CUP: Saints bounce holders Arsenal; West Ham cruise into 5th round ]
It was 1-0 with fewer than 10 minutes left to play before Phil Foden, Gabriel Jesus and Ferran Torres restored a semblance of order with goals in the 81st, 84th and 93rd minutes, respectively.
Prior to Cheltenham’s goal in the 59th minute, Manchester City hadn’t conceded a single goal in over 500 minutes, beating the likes of Manchester United (League Cup), Birmingham City (FA Cup) and four Premier League sides without conceding.
UNBELIEVABLE, ALFIE MAY!#EmiratesFACup @CTFCofficial pic.twitter.com/lzMEZIcUsB
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) January 23, 2021
Just how big of a Cupset would Cheltenham over Manchester City have been? Just how big is the gulf between the two sides?
Per @SteveBowercomm, Cheltenham’s record signing cost $68,000. City have just brought on a defender who cost $85,000,000. Astonishing.
— Arlo White (@arlowhite) January 23, 2021
Love the #FACup
More than anything, it was a flat performance from Manchester City as they were almost always well in control of the game and could have easily scored a handful of goals before falling behind. Alas, the magic of the Cup struck and set up a frantic finish between two sides currently separated by 72 places in the English football pyramid.
Phil Foden makes his mark 👊#EmiratesFACup @ManCity pic.twitter.com/hbPj9w0cT3
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) January 23, 2021
Ruthless from Gabriel Jesus 💥#EmiratesFACup @ManCity pic.twitter.com/5UL6bMxicv
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) January 23, 2021
Ferran fires 🔥#EmiratesFACup @ManCity pic.twitter.com/QwmVfJTs32
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) January 23, 2021
Up next for Manchester City in the FA Cup is a fifth round trip to south Wales, where they’ll take on second-place EFL Championship side — and new home to USMNT forward Jordan Morris — Swansea City.
FA Cup fourth round results
Manchester United 3-2 Liverpool — RECAP
Cheltenham Town 1-3 Manchester City — RECAP
Southampton 1-0 Arsenal — RECAP
West Ham United 4-0 Doncaster Rovers — RECAP
Brighton & Hove Albion 1-0 Blackpool — RECAP
Sheffield United 2-1 Plymouth Argyle — RECAP
Chorley 0-1 Wolves — RECAP
Swansea City 5-1 Nottingham Forest
Millwall 0-3 Bristol City
Barnsley 1-0 Norwich City
FA Cup fifth round draw
Manchester United v West Ham United
Everton v Tottenham
Swansea City v Manchester City
Barnsley v Chelsea
Wolves v Southampton
Leicester City v Brighton & Hove Albion
Burnley v Bournemouth/Crawley Town
Sheffield United v Bristol City