FA Cup
Diogo Jota hopes Liverpool’s firepower helps them to FA Cup glory
The Portuguese forward has been an impressive performer for Jurgen Klopp’s men in his debut season at Anfield, after a move from Wolverhampton Wanderers last summer.
And he’s now hoping to live out a childhood dream by lifting the famous trophy in what is the competition’s 150th anniversary season.
Growing up in Portugal, did you watch the Emirates FA Cup Final on TV?
Yes, in Portugal everyone loves English football pretty much like everyone else all over the world. Seeing those games meant that for a lot of young players like me, it was always a target to reach the Premier League and also play in the FA Cup. It’s probably the most important club cup competition in the world. It’s not every year that you reach the Final and we have a great chance to win it. And when the day arrives, we’ll go with everything we have to do that.
You’ve played Chelsea three times this season and every game was all-square after 90 minutes. Are you expecting another tight contest on Saturday?
I think so. They are a very tough team to play against with the three centre-backs, and they defend really well. They’re one of the hardest teams to score against and they are very good offensively as well. They’ve been a really good team since Thomas Tuchel arrived so it’s not going to be easy. It’s another big game but we are used to that. I think it will be a very good match for all the fans to watch.
Yourself, Mo Salah and Sadio Mane have all scored 20 or more goals this season, only the third time in the club’s history three different players have achieved that feat in the same campaign. With such firepower you must be confident that you can score in any game?
Yes, I think it’s very rare when we don’t score. But I think that’s down to the work of all of the team. Everyone works hard to score goals. Obviously, the ones upfront always have more chances to do it but we know that the way we play we can score goals throughout the team. For example, we saw Ibou Konate score an important goal to open the scoring in the semi-final against City. We always leave a lot of space behind our backline but we have the team and the centre-backs to cover the space, so we try to press every team as much as possible and of course being on the top level in terms of physicality is an important part of that.
The Emirates FA Cup is the only major trophy Jurgen Klopp has not won since he came to Liverpool, so victory in the final would be very special?
I think it was the first time he won the EFL Cup earlier this year, so maybe this season could be a one for everyone to remember for a while. Like I say, it’s a tight margin of being able to win something else and not being able to win anything more. But we have a big squad with a lot of quality and I believe that we can do it.
-The FA
Arsenal survived a genuine scare in the FA Cup fifth round on Saturday as they edged past spirited third-tier Mansfield Town 2-1, with Eberechi Eze’s thunderbolt sending the Premier League leaders into the quarter-finals.
Noni Madueke gave Arsenal the lead going into halftime at Field Mill, but Will Evans equalised for Nigel Clough’s Mansfield before Eze scored in the 66th minute to ensure the top-flight side progressed to the last eight.
“Happy to score. I had the space and the opportunity to shoot. So I took it,” Eze told TNT Sports.
“It was a difficult environment to play in. But we did what we had to do and we are through to the next round, which is the important thing.”
Mikel Arteta named a much-changed side, starting teenagers Max Dowman and Marli Salmon, as Arsenal became the first Premier League side to start a competitive game with two players aged 16 or under in any competition.
However, Arteta’s changes nearly backfired as the hosts, feeding off a raucous home crowd, gave Arsenal a genuine fright with aggressive pressing and infectious energy that clearly unsettled the visitors.
“Before the game, the gaffer said, ‘Have a go. We were not expected to win the game, so have a go and enjoy it,” Mansfield forward Rhys Oates said.
“We created more chances than we thought we could, and we have given them a game.”
Dowman, Arsenal’s youngest-ever FA Cup player at 16, emerged as a lively attacking threat as the top-flight side gradually found their rhythm before Madueke broke the deadlock in the 41st minute.
Madueke, who had an initial shot saved, curled a powerful finish into the far corner to give Arsenal their 100th goal of the season in all competitions.
Clough brought on Evans for the second half, and the Welsh striker made an immediate impact, netting five minutes after coming on.
The 28-year-old wrong-footed a second-guessing Cristhian Mosquera before finishing past Kepa Arrizabalaga in Arsenal’s goal.
“It’s typical, isn’t it? For me to have a league goal drought and then come on for a half against Arsenal and have a goal against them,” Evans said.
Arsenal were rattled but recovered and found the winner when substitute Eze made space for himself and fired a powerful shot from the edge of the box to silence the crowd at Field Mill and keep Arsenal’s quadruple bid on track.
-Reuters
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Chelsea’s Alejandro Garnacho and Joao Pedro struck in extra time to secure a nervy 4–2 win over second‑tier Wrexham and reach the FA Cup quarter‑finals on Saturday as the Premier League giants escaped from the Racecourse Ground after a tough battle.
Garnacho volleyed home from close range in the 97th minute with such force that the ball ricocheted off the back stanchion to give Chelsea the lead for the first time on the night.
Wrexham — who lost George Dobson to a 93rd-minute red card — thought they had equalised deep into added time in the extra period when Lewis Brunt headed home, but he was offside. Pedro then sealed Chelsea’s win with a fine goal in the 125th minute.
Sam Smith had put the Championship side ahead in the 18th when he sprinted onto Callum Doyle’s long pass, took a touch and fired past Robert Sanchez. Chelsea equalised with a huge slice of luck when George Thomason’s attempt to clear Garnacho’s shot struck goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo and rolled in.
Wrexham went back in front after 78 minutes when Doyle diverted the ball past Sanchez after Ryan Longman fired it back into the area from a corner. But Josh Acheampong equalised soon after with a blistering shot into the roof of the net after Dobson slipped to send the game into extra time.
-Reuters
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Arsenal will visit League One Mansfield Town, while Manchester City travel to Newcastle United in a mouth-watering all-Premier League tie following the FA Cup fifth round draw on Monday.
Third-tier Mansfield stunned top-flight strugglers Burnley 2-1 at Turf Moor on Saturday and have been rewarded with a clash against 14-time winners and Premier League leaders Arsenal.
Pep Guardiola’s City face Newcastle in a repeat of one of this season’s League Cup semi-finals, while Premier League bottom side Wolverhampton Wanderers host Liverpool.
Brentford head to West Ham United after an own goal away to sixth-tier Macclesfield, who stunned holders Crystal Palace in the last round, giving them a 1-0 win on Monday.
Championship side Wrexham welcome eight-time winners Chelsea, while Fulham entertain Southampton and Leeds United host another second-tier side in Norwich City.
Sunderland face a second successive away trip after being drawn against Port Vale or Bristol City, whose fourth-round tie has been postponed until March 3 due to a waterlogged pitch.
FA Cup fifth round draw
- Fulham v Southampton
- Port Vale or Bristol City v Sunderland
- Newcastle United v Manchester City
- Leeds United v Norwich City
- Mansfield Town v Arsenal
- Wolverhampton Wanderers v Liverpool
- Wrexham v Chelsea
- West Ham United v Brentford
Matches to be played over the weekend of March 7–8
-Reuters
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