City hero Ake feared winning goal would never come

Nathan Ake admitted he feared Manchester City's breakthrough was never going to come before netting a late winner in their 1-0 win at Tottenham in the FA Cup fourth round. 

Ake's goal was City's first in six visits to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and banked them a deserved place in the last 16.

Pep Guardiola's side were in control of the match but struggled to convert their chances and the defender was relieved to get his side over the line.

He said: "We trusted the way we played, we created multiple chances and had the belief to keep going even though we weren't scoring. 

"I thought it was never going to come but it finally did.

"I’m so happy. It was tough but I think we played well all game.

"I think it was important to go through, we want to be in every competition possible and now we're through to the next round."

Ake's winner was reviewed by VAR, with Spurs defenders claiming goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario had been impeded by Ruben Dias.

But the Dutch international insisted he did not have a good view of the incident.

He said: "I’m not sure what happened, I just saw the ball in front of me and went for it.

"I’ll have to see it back. It was just important we got through."

The win ensured City avoided an unneeded replay with games coming thick and fast across multiple competitions.

And having won seven consecutive matches in all competitions, defending their historic 2022-23 Treble is within their sights.

They are next in action against Burnley on Wednesday.