FA Cup
Last-gasp Casemiro Sets Up United For Liverpool Clash –
- summary
- United beat Forest to set up Liverpool quarter-final
- Danns and Koumas on target for Liverpool against Southampton
- Chelsea’s Gallagher scores 90th-minute winner against Leeds
Feb 28 (Reuters) – Brazilian Casemiro struck late to send Manchester United into the FA Cup quarter-finals with a 1-0 victory over Nottingham Forest as teenagers Jayden Danns and Lewis Koumas inspired Liverpool to a 3-0 win over Southampton on Wednesday.
Chelsea overcame second-tier Leeds United 3-2 thanks to Conor Gallagher’s 90th-minute winner, easing the pressure on coach Mauricio Pochettino, and Wolverhampton Wanderers beat Brighton & Hove Albion 1-0 thanks to Mario Lemina’s early goal.
United kept alive their last hope of lifting a trophy in a difficult season for the 12-times FA Cup winners when the 32-year-old Casemiro headed in a low bouncing free kick from Bruno Fernandes from close range, setting up an enticing quarter-final meeting with Liverpool.
United manager Erik Ten Hag and his team held their breath through a lengthy VAR check for offside before the goal was confirmed to the delight of the United fans at the City Ground.
“We scored in the right moment,” Ten Hag told the BBC. “Every win is important. This team, what they showed today, that’s great. They have to show it every game.”
The goal was reminiscent of Mark Robins’ famous stooping header against Forest in 1989 which secured victory for United in a crucial FA Cup tie that helped save manager Alex Ferguson’s job.
Ten Hag’s side are sixth in the Premier League and last weekend’s loss to Fulham left their hopes of a top-four finish and Champions League berth hanging by a thread.
“It was an important game for us to win,” keeper Andre Onana told the BBC. “I’m happy. We worked hard and this was our reward. At Manchester United you must win. It was a difficult game against a good opponent.”
Three days after Liverpool’s young side beat Chelsea 1-0 to win the League Cup final, Danns struck twice with his first goals for the senior side and Koumas scored on his first-team debut.
“I couldn’t be happier today. Today is the best day of my life,” Danns said. “I’ve watched Liverpool since I was a young boy and to score at the Kop End is more than a dream. I couldn’t be happier.”
Koumas, the 18-year-old son of former Wales international Jason Koumas, scored just before halftime, receiving a superb pass from Bobby Clark before shooting into the bottom corner via a deflection off Jack Stephens.
Danns, who is also 18, netted his first in the 73rd minute when he dinked the ball over keeper Joe Lumley, and scored again 15 minutes later after pouncing on a loose ball.
With injuries to key players including Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez, Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp fielded a young team against Southampton — 23 spots below them in England’s football pyramid.
“It was an incredible game. It was so intense and they ran themselves into the ground, we needed to find a way and we did that,” Klopp told ITV.
“The whole situation is horribly difficult,” he added about the team’s injuries. “Any positive mood around the changing room and training room, we accept we’re in a difficult moment and try and find solutions. It’s great to be in the quarter-finals and we don’t take these things for granted.”
CHELSEA CHANCE
For Chelsea, struggling in mid-table in the league, the FA Cup is their last realistic chance of silverware.
The Premier League side were shocked in the eighth minute when Leeds took the lead after a defensive mix-up playing out from a goal kick allowed Mateo Joseph to score his first senior goal.
Chelsea replied with two goals from flowing moves in the 15th and 37th minutes and fine finishes by Senegal’s Nicolas Jackson and Ukrainian Mykhailo Mudryk.
Leeds upped the intensity in the second half and were rewarded in the 59th minute as a free header from the unmarked Joseph flew past Chelsea keeper Robert Sanchez.
Pochettino brought on Gallagher and Ben Chilwell as well as top scorer Cole Palmer in the second half and the move paid off. With extra time looming, Gallagher latched on to a pass from Argentine midfielder Enzo Fernandez before shooting home to take Chelsea into the last eight.
Pochettino called the win a “big relief”.
“It is difficult because of the expectations,” he told ITV. “The expectation is massive because we are Chelsea but this team needs to build and build the confidence. The unity is starting to grow, it’s not magic, you can’t just create it.”
Liverpool travel to Old Trafford to face Manchester United over the weekend of March 16, champions Manchester City host Newcastle United, Chelsea play Leicester City and Wolves take on Coventry City.
-Reuters
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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