Late goals by Phil Foden, Gabriel Jesus and Ferran Torres spared Manchester City a shock FA Cup defeat away to fourth-tier Cheltenham as the Premier League giants scraped into round five on Saturday.
Alfie May's 59th-minute goal put Cheltenham agonisingly close to the biggest win in their history on a night of drama at a sadly empty Jonny-Rocks Stadium.
With less than 10 minutes left on the clock Foden volleyed in an equaliser and Jesus struck three minutes later to end the hopes of a side 72 places lower than City in the standings.
Torres gave the scoreline a comfortable look with the final kick of the game but it was anything but.
It was City's 10th successive win in all competitions but Cheltenham depart the competition full of pride after pushing City's slickers to the limit.
City will be away to Swansea City in the next round.
The tie had everything apart from a crowd to enjoy it because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
There were incredible goalline clearances, near misses, throw-ins launched like grenades and even a five-minute delay in the first half as fireworks exploded above the stadium.
"We came here with humility and had the quality to make the difference," Pep Guardiola said.
"They used their quality in the box, they are taller and better than us there and we showed clips on how to solve it. It is difficult to control that."
For Cheltenham manager Michael Duff it was a case of what might have been.
"I'm incredibly proud. The players they brought on from the bench and the way they celebrated the goals tells you something. They know they've been in a game. They've done that to better teams than us," he said.
