Manchester City put an end to the FA Cup hopes of Salford’s star-studded owners with a dominant 8-0 victory on Saturday, while Liverpool secured a comfortable 4-0 win over Accrington Stanley to progress to the fourth round. Chelsea also impressed, thrashing Morecambe 5-0.
However, Brentford were the only Premier League side to fall to lower-league opposition, with Championship strugglers Plymouth pulling off a surprise 1-0 win, courtesy of Morgan Whittaker’s late strike.
Salford, backed by Manchester United legends David Beckham, Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, and Nicky Butt since 2014, have made remarkable progress through the non-league ranks. Scholes, Butt, and Giggs were in attendance at the Etihad, but couldn’t replicate their glory days at Old Trafford as City ran riot.
Pep Guardiola made several changes, resting star striker Erling Haaland. Jeremy Doku opened the scoring after just 8 minutes, followed by goals from Divin Mubama and Nico O’Reilly, making it 3-0 by halftime. Jack Grealish and Doku each converted penalties, before James McAtee stole the show with a second-half hat-trick.
Alexander-Arnold inspires Liverpool victory
At Anfield, Liverpool also showed no signs of an upset despite making eight changes. Trent Alexander-Arnold, captaining the side in Virgil van Dijk’s absence, led by example, scoring a stunning goal from outside the box after Diogo Jota’s opener. Jayden Danns added a third before Federico Chiesa marked his first Liverpool goal.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot praised Alexander-Arnold for his response to criticism following a poor performance against Manchester United the previous week, describing his goal as “unbelievable.”
Chelsea firepower and Brentford’s FA Cup shock
Chelsea were clinical in a 5-0 demolition of Morecambe, with Joao Felix seizing a rare starting opportunity to score twice. Tosin Adarabioyo also bagged a brace, while Christopher Nkunku redeemed an earlier penalty miss with his 13th goal of the season.
Brentford, who have been strong at home this season, were stunned by Plymouth. Despite being 86 league positions above them, the Bees were caught out by Whittaker’s late strike, as the bottom-of-the-table Championship side pulled off one of the day’s biggest upsets.
Plymouth caretaker manager Kevin Nancekivell reflected on the historic win: “It’s a big day for us, and we’ve written a little bit of history today by getting the win,” he said.
Other key results
Nottingham Forest continued their impressive form with a 2-0 win over Luton, while Brighton eased past Norwich 4-0, with Georginio Rutter scoring twice. Bournemouth bounced back from an injury crisis to beat West Brom 5-1, and Leicester hammered QPR 6-2 in an eight-goal thriller. Wolves’ strong start under new boss Vitor Pereira continued with a 2-1 win at Bristol City.
The FA Cup lived up to its reputation for surprises and drama, with top-tier teams advancing comfortably, while underdogs like Plymouth made their mark with memorable victories.
AFP
