Manchester City 2-1 Leyton Orient
Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City are enduring a season to forget. Even against a third-tier side, they spent more than half the match fearing an upset. In Saturday’s FA Cup fourth-round clash, City trailed Leyton Orient for 55 minutes before mounting a comeback.
The Premier League champions narrowly avoided embarrassment, securing a 2-1 win thanks to goals from Abduqodir Khusanov and Kevin De Bruyne.
At Brisbane Road, City dominated possession from the start but struggled to convert their chances. Then, in the 16th minute, disaster struck.
Jamie Donley unleashed a stunning long-range effort from nearly 45 yards. City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega, caught off his line, scrambled back but couldn’t keep it out. The ball clipped the crossbar, bounced off Ortega, and rolled into the net—an unfortunate own goal that gave Leyton the lead.
Trailing, City launched relentless attacks, shaking the home side’s defense. But no matter how hard they pushed, an equalizer remained elusive. Leyton even had chances to extend their lead but couldn’t capitalize.
At halftime, the stats reflected City’s dominance: 76% possession, 13 shots, with four on target. Leyton, despite seeing only 23% of the ball, had four shots—two of them testing Ortega.
