Wigan Athletic 1-0 Manchester City
Two moments of drama lit up a cold Monday night in Lancashire as Wigan reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, following the unlikeliest of victories against one of the best sides in Europe.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola had picked a strong team for the occasion, and his temper boiled over at half time after seeing left back Fabian Delph sent off for a dangerous tackle on Wigan’s Max Power.
The reaction from the players and the coaching staff of both sides meant the action continued into the tunnel at the midway point in the game, but another moment in the second half was to overshadow these scenes.
Will Grigg, now the competition’s top scorer with seven, was able to latch on to a hopeful clearance from Callum Elder and put the home fans in dreamland, and his side into the next round.
Chances fell to both sides early on but there were sloppy moments in the final third which meant it remained scoreless at half time.
Both goalkeepers were called into action with home side stopper Christian Walton saving a long-range effort from Ilkay Gundogan, as well as making a more impressive stop from Sergio Aguero late in the half.
Claudio Bravo may have been expecting a quiet night between the posts for the away side, but was called upon to smother at the feet of Gary Roberts after good work from Nathan Byrne.
City dominated possession, as would have been expected by both sets of players before the game, but Wigan had their chances on the break.
Byrne created a three on two against the visitors' isolated rearguard pairing of Aymeric Laporte and John Stones, but despite some good interplay between Grigg and Nick Powell the move petered out as it approached the opposition area.
The best opportunity of the opening period fell to Fernandinho, but he skied his shot over after the ball was played to his feet by Stones.
As the first half came to an end Wigan had had just 18 percent possession, but going into the second they would have a man extra.
The referee initially pulled the yellow card out of his pocket after getting a good look at Delph’s full-blooded tackle on Power, but after some deliberation, and maybe one or two descriptions of the tackle from the players around him, he opted for red instead.
The change of heart caused tempers to flare on the touchline, and this spilled over into the tunnel after Taylor blew the whistle, with Guardiola incensed at the decision.
The Spaniard brought Kyle Walker on for Leroy Sane at half-time, with Danilo shifting across to left back. This robbed the visitors of the most direct of their attacking players, but they still managed to maintain reasonable control of the game despite having a man less.
The full backs were now providing the width for City, with Bernardo Silva tucked inside in support of Aguero in a 4-3-2 formation.
While the first period had witnessed chances at both ends, the second 45 minutes began in less eventful fashion. The two sides were working each other out as Wigan still weren’t sure how much they could attack, even against ten men, while City were lacking some pace and directness without Sane.
They tried to remedy this by introducing the dynamic Kevin De Bruyne in place of David Silva. The belgian has taken plenty of games by the scruff of the neck this season, and his manager hoped he would do the same again here and prevent a replay, and another fixture being added to City’s already hectic schedule. In the end a replay was prevented, but not in the way De Bruyne and Guardiola desired.
Their possession began to create attempts on goal as Wigan tired, but many of these were from distance, which the packed Latics defence were able to block before they reached Walton.
The home side had not had a shot in the second half, but out of nowhere Elder stretched to launch the ball long and Grigg latched onto it. At first he appeared to be struggling for pace against Stones, but used his body well to get in front of the defender, before finishing in the far corner past Bravo despite slipping as he shot.
The DW Stadium erupted, and though there were some nervous moments towards the end, Wigan were able to hold on until the end when the fans’ joy spilled onto the pitch. Their side have now won their last three games in this competition against City, including the 2013 final.
Another Premier League side, Southampton, is now between them and a trip to Wembley for the semi-final, as this club writes another chapter in its book of FA Cup fairy tales.
