Will Grigg’s 7th FA Cup goal of the season dumps Guardiola’s City out of FA Cup in 5th round
Will Grigg scored his seventh FA Cup goal of the season to condemn 10-man Manchester City to fifth-round heartache and send Wigan Athletic into the quarter-finals courtesy of a 1-0 victory at the DW Stadium this evening.
City had full-back Fabian Delph controversially sent off in the first half, before being undone by a piece of counter-attacking brilliance from Grigg, whose late goal put an end to Pep Guardiola’s quadruple hopes.
City threatened from the off as Bernardo Silva crossed cutely for Sergio Aguero, who headed over the bar from close range under pressure from Dan Burn.
The Latics were able to cause problems of their own in the early stages, though, as a ball into the middle was poorly dealt with by Danilo, although Gary Roberts could not quite adjust his feet in time to test Claudio Bravo.
Grigg’s industry was admirable in the first half and he soon profited from more complacency from Danilo, allowing the frontman to steal possession and lash a testing effort into the side netting.
Wigan were forced to change their plans after Nick Powell was forced off through injury, leading to a period of increased dominance from Guardiola’s charges. First Aymeric Laporte fluffed his lines just a few yards out from goal, before Fernandinho blazed over from close range after a smart knockdown from John Stones.
The home side continued to frustrate City going into the break and they were perhaps rewarded with a moment of controversy just before the whistle, when Fabian Delph was given a straight red card for a hefty challenge on David Perkins.
At first it looked as though referee Anthony Taylor had decided to take a yellow from his pocket, only to draw a red for the full-back moments later.
The incident left Guardiola irked and he carried his protestations down into the tunnel at the break, as the Spaniard entered into an animated exchange with Latics boss Paul Cook.
Wigan approached the second period with similar industry to the first and for a while they kept City at bay, until Guardiola decided to introduce Kevin De Bruyne 25 minutes from time.
The Belgian appeared to have changed the contest instantly and he almost played Aguero in for an opener, only for the frontman to control poorly and see his eventual shot saved at the second attempt.
City continued to control possession despite being a man down, but that all changed 11 minutes from time, when Grigg broke away from Kyle Walker and kept his composure to bend a memorable finish beyond Claudio Bravo and hand the Latics the lead.
