Marcos Alonso’s extra-time winner saves Chelsea against battling Plymouth

On a boisterous afternoon it took Chelsea 105 minutes, 39 shots and 19 corners to take the lead against Plymouth. These are the kind of numbers that suggest a pasting, fourth-round FA Cup minnows hanging on by their toenails.

This was something else: a victory for Chelsea, but a day when Plymouth played neat, disciplined, counterattacking football, and really might have won. Deep into extra time Steve Schumacher’s team were spanking in shots at the Chelsea goal looking to force a shoot-out.

Chelsea’s occasional problems are clear enough, a well-calibrated passing and pressing machine that seems at times to be lulling itself to sleep. But Plymouth were a great tribute to the enduring strength of the lower tiers, and huge credit to their manager, who sounds like a disciple of the Ralf Rangnick atelier, but is from Liverpool.

Related: Bowen saves West Ham’s blushes in extra-time Cup win over Kidderminster

Some perspective: Plymouth are seventh in League One, 12 points behind Rotherham. In extra time, Chelsea had Romelu Lukaku, Kai Havertz, Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech on the pitch, a combined £280m of attacking talent, and all certainly standing quite near one another.

The visitors even missed a penalty five minutes from the end, Malang Sarr bringing down Ryan Hardie only for Hardie to see his kick well saved by Kepa Arrizabalaga. “I’m emotional,” Schumacher said. “I’m just really proud of the team. They gave everything they’ve got.”

The Plymouth end was a stirring sight, a sizeable portion of Devon packed into the full double-decker stand. And the Bridge was a lovely soft sunny spring-like place at kick-off, the game beginning in a mild lunchtime doze.

At which point something glorious happened. With seven minutes gone