Manchester City welcomed Sheffield Wednesday back to the Etihad for the second time this season, with The Blues having been drawn against The Owls in not just the FA Cup Third Round, but also the Capital One Cup Third Round all the way back in September. After a poor first half in which we went behind, The Blues eventually managed to emerge on top with a late winner thanks to James Milner.
Former Blue Jeremy Helan was in the starting lineup for the visitors on Sunday, who played an attacking team including two strikers. City also fielded a majority of first-team stars, with Willy Caballero continuing in goal while Yaya Touré captained the side in what was his last game before going to join his country at the Africa Cup of Nations.
In the earlier game this season, City struggled to break down a stout Wednesday defence for much of the first half, as was the case that time. However, the difference being that in the original tie City were able to keep the threat posed by Stevie May and Gary Madine at bay, and eventually went on the put seven past the visitors in the second half. This time, that was not the case.
It took just 14 minutes for Wednesday to take a surprise lead in the game. Stevie May got away thanks to a good ball down the Wednesday right wing, and he was able to get away from Mangala just long enough for Atdhe Nuhiu to make his run into the box. Once the big striker got it, he just had the simple task of slotting low past Caballero to put the visitors ahead.
After that goal, City struggled to create many chances to get back in the game, with the absence of David Silva clear to see. As the game made its way into the second half with little sign of an opening, Silva and Nasri made their introductions from the bench in a move that signalled a switch in the flow of play.
Those changes came just minutes before James Milner finally rewarded the City efforts with a goal. After over an hour of trying and the final ball not quite coming off, some good play between David Silva and Samir Nasri eventually resulted in Silva rolling a first-time pass into the feet of Milner, ready for him to slide under Chris Kirkland to level the scores.
As the game wore on, it look increasingly like the game was headed for a replay at Hillsborough. Both teams had half-chances, with Wednesday looking dangerous on the counter-attack and City already having stepped it up a notch, but neither team looked like they were going to produce the winning goal.
However, just a minute into injury time, James Milner decided he had other ideas. Bacary Sagna put Navas away down the right, and the Spaniard was able to cross low from the by-line. His cross deflected off of Wednesday defender Tom Lees, before finding the net via the boot of James Milner to lift the City fans to their feet after an erratic 90 minutes of football. Quite fitting for Milner to be the man to score twice and lift City out of disappointment, with the game coming on his 29th birthday.
Despite the win, there will be things that Pellegrini will need to look at when he’s back on the training ground, such as quite how City performed as poorly as they did in the first half. Sheffield Wednesday and Stuart Gray also deserve praise for the way they set themselves up, and stuck to it, which caused City problems. They will be able to take heart from this performance, even if they won’t be in the next round.
City are now in the draw for the 4th Round of the FA Cup, which will take place on the 5th of January.
