City briefly trailed to Maksym Talovierov's 38th-minute goal, but after Nico O'Reilly's equaliser on the stroke of half-time, Guardiola's team took charge at Etihad Stadium.

O'Reilly scored again as a wave of sustained pressure ultimately told, before Kevin De Bruyne made sure of the victory in the 90th minute.

City peppered Plymouth's goal, having 14 shots in the first half and 15 after the break, but Guardiola believes the ball was letting his team down, as he claimed those used in the Premier League and UEFA Champions League were easier to control.

He said: "The ball in the [UEFA] Champions League is exceptional, the ball in the Premier League is exceptional, this one isn't. It's difficult to control.

"When you lose it [sounds like] you're complaining, but the ball is not right. In many years it's happened in the FA Cup and Carabao Cup, I know it's a business and they come to agreements.

"You know how many shots went over? Look at other games. Normally the ball goes inside from these shots."

City ironically has been more accurate with its shooting in the FA Cup than any other competition this season, albeit in just three games against lower-league opposition.

The 2023 winner has posted a 59.18 per cent shooting accuracy – excluding blocks – in the competition this term, a higher percentage than across any of the other three tournaments it has featured in.

It has also posted more shots on target in total – 9.7 per game – than across any other competition, as well as 24.3 shots per game in total.

An FA spokesperson confirmed afterwards that the ball had been produced in line with FIFA requirements.

City will face Bournemouth in the quarter-finals.