Mohamed Salah was on target as Liverpool eased into the FA Cup fifth round with a commanding 3-0 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday, while Marc Guehi netted his first goal for Manchester City in a 2-0 win against fourth-tier Salford City.
Brighton, who had stunned Manchester United in the third round, arrived at Anfield amid a poor run of form and were comfortably dispatched by an increasingly confident Liverpool side.
Injury problems in defence forced Curtis Jones to deputise at right-back, but the midfielder adapted superbly, bursting into the box to convert Milos Kerkez’s cross and open the scoring.
Salah, who has struggled to hit top form this season, delivered a decisive second-half contribution that could reignite his campaign. The Egyptian’s delicate pass released Dominik Szoboszlai to rifle home Liverpool’s second before Salah calmly slotted in his 252nd goal for the club from the penalty spot.
Salford, owned by former Manchester United stars David Beckham and Gary Neville, were playing in the fourth round for the first time in their history. After suffering an 8-0 thrashing by City at the same stage last season, the League Two side proved far more resilient this time.
City went ahead early through an Alfie Dorrington own goal but struggled to break down a stubborn defence. “They defended really well, so tight, and we didn’t attack the spaces the way we should. The game was flat until we scored the second goal,” said City boss Pep Guardiola.
With nine minutes remaining, Guehi sealed the tie with a composed finish, his first goal since arriving from Crystal Palace in January.
Newcastle rally
Sandro Tonali struck twice as Newcastle United came from behind to defeat 10-man Aston Villa 3-1.
Villa’s hopes of ending a 30-year trophy drought suffered a major blow when goalkeeper Marco Bizot was sent off late in the first half for bringing down Jacob Murphy and denying a clear goalscoring opportunity.
Tammy Abraham had earlier given Villa the lead with his first goal since returning to the club, but the dismissal shifted momentum firmly in Newcastle’s favour.
Controversy followed when Lucas Digne handled inside the box, yet only a free-kick, rather than a penalty, was awarded. With VAR not in use at this stage of the competition, the decision stood. Former England captain Wayne Rooney labelled it “one of the worst decisions I’ve ever seen.”
Newcastle capitalised regardless, as Tonali’s free-kick deflected past Emi Martinez to level the tie. The Italian then produced a thunderous long-range strike to put the Magpies ahead, underlining why he has reportedly attracted interest from Arsenal.
Nick Woltemade added a late third, his first goal in 15 matches, to send Newcastle, FA Cup winners in 1955, into the last 16.
Burnley gamble backfires
Third-tier Mansfield Town pulled off the upset of the day with a 2-1 victory at Burnley, reaching the fifth round for the first time since 1975.
Burnley manager Scott Parker made nine changes to his starting line-up, a gamble that backfired despite Josh Laurent’s early opener.
Rhys Oates headed in the equaliser before Louis Reed struck a superb free-kick 10 minutes from time to complete a memorable comeback.
Elsewhere, 10-man West Ham United edged past Burton Albion 1-0 after extra time, with the in-form Crysencio Summerville scoring the decisive goal to send the Hammers through.
AFP
