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Late Ake goal helps Man City send Spurs crashing out of FA Cup

Danny Lewis
Manchester City's Dutch defender Nathan Ake (L) celebrates with teammates after scoring the opening goal
Manchester City's Dutch defender Nathan Ake (L) celebrates with teammates after scoring the opening goalAFP
Nathan Ake’s late goal took Manchester City past Tottenham Hotspur with a 1-0 win in the FA Cup Fourth Round, reaching the Fifth Round of this competition for a ninth consecutive season.

The Cityzens had never scored at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Oscar Bobb couldn’t change that despite poking the ball into Guglielmo Vicario’s net early on, as he was marginally offside when Phil Foden’s effort was saved.

Even with that goal being ruled out, Pep Guardiola’s side got off to a blistering start that Spurs overcame with Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovačić both seeing shots blocked.

The hosts soon made forays forward of their own but couldn’t quite find the incisive pass needed at vital moments.

Manchester City's Argentinian striker #19 Julian Alvarez (L) has an unsuccessful shot
Manchester City's Argentinian striker #19 Julian Alvarez (L) has an unsuccessful shotAFP

While opportunities weren’t quite as forthcoming for City as the half-hour mark came and went, there were still occasional scares for Spurs due to the visitors’ pressing - especially when Vicario was forced to knock the ball out of play by Julián Álvarez.

There was a lengthy delay due to a technical issue for referee Paul Tierney, but the intensity didn’t drop once the action restarted and Bobb was denied by a determined block from Pedro Porro.

Bobb played a part in more opportunities early in the second half, although Micky van de Ven and Pierre-Emile Højbjerg got across brilliantly to block efforts from Álvarez and Joško Gvardiol respectively.

Ortega was equally impressive in halting Johnson at the other end before his side looked to go on the front foot again with the introduction of Kevin De Bruyne and Jérémy Doku shortly after the hour mark. 

There was also a lift for the hosts when James Maddison emerged from the bench for his first minutes since sustaining an injury in November.

Silva and De Bruyne both wasted opportunities to score the winner, but having also scored the goal that defeated Arsenal at this stage of the FA Cup last term, Nathan Ake touched the ball over the line following an unconvincing punch from Vicario.

That earned City’s 12th consecutive away win in the FA Cup, as they aim to become the first club since Arsenal in 2014/15 to win this competition in back-to-back seasons.

Spurs, meanwhile, have failed to make it past this stage for the first time in five campaigns.

Match result
Match resultFlashscore

Flashscore Man of the Match: Nathan Ake (Manchester City)

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