Manchester City were handed an FA Cup scare as they were forced to come from behind to beat Championship side Plymouth 3-1 at the Etihad Stadium to book their place in the last eight.

Plymouth – Liverpool’s conquerors in the fourth round – were eyeing another huge upset when Maksym Talovierov headed Miron Muslic’s side into a 38th-minute lead. Yet any hopes the Pilgrims may have had of extending their unlikely cup run after surprise wins over Brentford and Liverpool were snuffed out by teenager Nico O’Reilly, who struck twice as Manchester City fought back to lead. The 19-year-old, operating as a makeshift left-back, headed an equaliser before the break and then repeated the feat 14 minutes from time.

Kevin De Bruyne then cemented City’s place in the quarter-finals with their third goal in the 90th minute. City’s eventual victory was no surprise, given their near total domination of play, and the win keeps Pep Guardiola’s side’s hopes of silverware this season alive with the FA Cup their final chance to win a trophy.

However, Plymouth’s stubbornness in defense gave the Premier League side plenty to think about new head coach Muslic seems to have breathed new life into the Pilgrims since the sacking of Wayne Rooney on New Year’s Eve, giving them a fighting chance of avoiding relegation from the Championship and overseeing some cup heroics.