Manchester City delivered a crushing 8-0 defeat to Salford City in the FA Cup on Saturday. Salford’s owners, former Manchester United stars, witnessed their team’s FA Cup dreams dashed at the Etihad. Liverpool secured their spot in the fourth round with a convincing 4-0 win against Accrington Stanley.
Chelsea also progressed comfortably, thrashing Morecambe 5-0.
Brentford became the only Premier League team to be eliminated by a lower-league opponent. Plymouth Argyle, currently bottom of the Championship, pulled off a surprising 1-0 upset thanks to Morgan Whittaker’s late goal.
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Man City masterclass
Salford City’s rise from non-league football began in 2014 with investment from David Beckham, Gary and Phil Neville, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, and Nicky Butt. Scholes, Butt, and director of football Giggs were present at the Etihad Stadium. However, they did not witness a performance reminiscent of their illustrious playing days at Old Trafford.
Pep Guardiola made significant changes to his starting lineup, resting Erling Haaland.
Jeremy Doku opened the scoring after just eight minutes. Youngsters Divin Mubama and Nico O’Reilly extended City’s lead to 3-0 before halftime. Jack Grealish scored his first goal for City in over a year from the penalty spot. Doku also added another goal from the penalty spot. James McAtee, who had previously scored only once for City, secured a hat-trick in the second half, earning him the man-of-the-match award.
“I’ve been here since I was 10 and it’s a special moment for me. Something I’ll remember forever,” McAtee said after the match.
Liverpool in fourth round
Liverpool’s victory at Anfield was never in doubt despite manager Arne Slot making eight changes to the starting lineup.
Trent Alexander-Arnold captained the side in Virgil van Dijk’s absence. He responded strongly to criticism following his performance in the 2-2 draw against Manchester United.
Slot had warned his players that Accrington would treat the match like their “Champions League final.”
Accrington, 86 places below Liverpool in the English football league system, held out for nearly half an hour. Diogo Jota eventually broke the deadlock, tapping in Darwin Nunez’s low cross. Alexander-Arnold then doubled Liverpool’s lead with a stunning strike from outside the box.
“I could talk for hours about that (goal), unbelievable. The biggest compliment Trent could get was the reaction of everyone after the Manchester United game. Every player around the world, maybe except for a few, has a bad game and that is completely normal, but the moment Trent has one, everyone has an opinion about it,” Slot said.
Jayden Danns made it 3-0. Federico Chiesa scored his first goal for Liverpool after an injury-disrupted start to his time in England.
Easy win for Chelsea: Joao Felix shone for Chelsea, deputising for Cole Palmer. Felix and Tosin Adarabioyo each scored twice. Christopher Nkunku added a fifth goal, redeeming himself after missing an earlier penalty.
Plymouth stunned Brentford
Brentford had boasted an impressive home record in the Premier League this season, second only to Liverpool. Plymouth, on the other hand, had not won an away game all season.
Against the odds, Plymouth, who had recently dismissed manager Wayne Rooney, held firm and snatched a late victory. Whittaker’s powerful strike from outside the box sealed the win nine minutes from time.
“I have pride in everybody, and I’m pleased for the supporters. It’s a big day for us. The FA Cup brings that romance and we’ve put a little bit of history in it today by getting the win,” said caretaker Plymouth boss Kevin Nancekivell.
Other FA Cup results
- High-flying Nottingham Forest continued their strong season with a 2-0 victory over Luton.
- Brighton eased to a 4-0 win at Norwich, with Georginio Rutter scoring twice.
- Bournemouth, despite losing strikers Evanilson and Enes Unal to long-term injuries, rallied from a goal down to defeat West Brom 5-1.
- Leicester City put six goals past QPR in an eight-goal thriller at the King Power Stadium.
- Wolverhampton Wanderers maintained their positive start under new manager Vitor Pereira. Early goals from Rayan Ait-Nouri and Rodrigo Gomes secured a 2-1 win at Bristol City.
