FA Cup
Man United fight back to win, Spurs and Southampton out
Manchester United are to face Fullham in the FA Cup quarter-finals as they continue their quest for at least three trophies this season.
They already won the Carabao Cup last Sunday and still have both The FA Cup and the Europa League in sight.
But they had to fight back on Wednesday to put their dreams on course. Manchester United fought back to overpower West Ham United 3-1 and reach the FA Cup quarter-finals as Premier League Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton suffered shock defeats on Wednesday.
Three days after they won the League Cup, Manchester United trailed to Said Benrahma’s 54th-minute goal at Old Trafford but an own goal by West Ham’s Nayef Aguerd and late strikes from Alejandro Garnacho and Fred sent the hosts into the last eight.
Manchester manager Erik Ten Hag was delighted with his players.
“The resilience from this team and the belief they’re going to win it was magnificent,” the Dutchman told ITV.
West Ham, who have won only once at Old Trafford in their last 22 visits, took advantage of sloppy defending to open the scoring.
Tomas Soucek kept the ball in play on the left touchline and as Manchester United players appealed for a throw-in, the Czech played the ball to Benrahma who fired a shot past David De Gea into the top corner.
United thought they had equalised when Bruno Fernandes found Casemiro with a pin-point free kick, but his headed effort was disallowed for offside.
The game looked set for extra time until Argentine forward Garnacho controlled the ball inside West Ham’s penalty area before curling a shot past keeper Alphonse Areola.
Brazilian Fred added a third and the 12-times FA Cup winners advanced to a sixth-round home tie against Fulham.
“I had a strong feeling that we still could win the game, you saw the belief, there was composure, there was never a moment of panic,” Ten Hag said.
Tottenham suffered a 1-0 loss at Championship side Sheffield United after Iliman Ndiaye scored 11 minutes from time to stun the visitors.
“The performance from all the players was first class and the experienced boys at the back were class too,” Sheffield United manager Paul Heckingbottom told the BBC.
Grimsby Town, 16th in League Two, continued their dream FA Cup run as two penalties by Gavan Holohan knocked out Southampton 2-1 on their own ground and sent the fourth-tier side into the last eight for the first time in 84 years.
Grimsby led 2-0 soon after halftime but Southampton pulled one back through Duje Caleta-Car to ensure a tense finale.
“Just delighted for the players. We kept disciplined. Look at what that means to the support. We turned up, hoping for a miracle and to be in the quarter-final is incredible. It is just a fantastic day,” Grimsby manager Paul Hurst told ITV.
Grimsby are only the sixth team from the fourth tier or below to reach the last eight of the FA Cup since the introduction of the division in 1958-59.
Championship leaders Burnley beat Fleetwood Town 1-0 in the other tie to set up a quarter-final trip to champions Manchester City.
-Reuters
FA Cup quarter-final draw made on Wednesday
- Manchester City v Burnley
- Manchester United v Fulham
- Brighton and Hove Albion v Grimsby Town
- Sheffield United v Blackburn Rovers
Ties to be played between March 17-19
Erling Haaland scored a hat-trick as Manchester City crushed Liverpool 4-0 at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday to cruise into the FA Cup semi-finals.
Champions Liverpool played well in the opening half-hour with Mohamed Salah wasting an early chance, but once Haaland had scored from the spot in the 37th minute after a foul on Nico O’Reilly, their resistance crumbled.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk conceded the penalty with a rash challenge, and there was little the Dutch defender could do as City played scintillating attacking football for the remainder of the game.
His blond hair swinging behind him in a ponytail, Haaland netted his second two minutes into first-half stoppage time with a well-placed header from an excellent Antoine Semenyo cross.
Semenyo got on the scoresheet himself five minutes after the break, latching on to a ball in behind from Rayan Cherki and chipping it beautifully past Giorgi Mamardashvili, and Haaland completed his treble with a shot off the underside of the crossbar in the 57th minute.
Liverpool’s woes continued when Mohamed Salah, who is set to leave the club at the end of the season, capped off a poor performance by having his penalty saved by James Trafford, snuffing out any faint hopes Liverpool might have had of a comeback
As the game turned into a victory parade, many Liverpool fans started heading for the exits, and City manager Pep Guardiola rang the changes, replacing Haaland with Omar Marmoush, the Norwegian striker receiving a standing ovation as he left the field.
In the other quarter-finals, Chelsea take on Port Vale and Southampton host Arsenal later on Saturday, with Leeds United travelling to West Ham United on Sunday.
The semi-finals will take place at Wembley, and Haaland is relishing a return to the stadium.
“First half, we struggled a bit, but then we after around 30 minutes we kept going and in the end it’s an amazing game. Another Wembley trip for us is amazing and important,” he told broadcaster TNT.
“I think (my form this season) has been a bit too much up and down, which is not good enough. I cannot keep on thinking about what I could have done differently or what didn’t happen, or what happened. I have to think about the next game.”
-Reuters
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Arsenal will be without injured England attacker Noni Madueke when they face Southampton in Saturday’s FA Cup quarter-final, but Martin Odegaard and Jurrien Timber may return from injury, manager Mikel Arteta said.
Madueke was among the 11 Arsenal players who withdrew from international duty last month over injuries and fitness management, as the club eye their first Premier League title since 2004.
“When you have to communicate the state of every player, we are always honest and a medical decision had to be made. That was clear what the conclusion was,” Arteta told reporters on Friday.
“It makes us so proud that we had that many players in the national team. Players are desperate to play for their nation. I know how important it is to them. We are fully supportive of that and when we can do it, we do it.”
Madueke picked up a knee injury during England’s friendly with Uruguay, missing the game against Japan. But Arteta said his condition was not as bad as a knee injury that kept him out for six weeks.
Martin Zubimendi, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Timber, Leandro Trossard, Eberechi Eze, Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice were unavailable for their countries.
Arteta did not disclose how many of them will be available for Saturday’s game, as Arsenal look to shake off last month’s League Cup final loss to Manchester City with a return to Wembley in the FA Cup semi-finals.
“We’re in a position right now where we need to make the strongest line-up we possibly can to win every competition,” he said. ” We are two or three games away from the FA Cup and we know how important that competition is for us.”
-Reuters
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Manchester City will look to secure a historic eighth straight semi-final appearance in the FA Cup when they face Liverpool on Saturday, manager Pep Guardiola said.
City beat Arsenal to win the League Cup before the international break, and Guardiola is hoping his team maintain the momentum as they fight to add the FA Cup and Premier League to this season’s trophy haul.
“Once you finish one, it is the next one,” Guardiola told reporters on Friday.
“Tomorrow we have the chance to reach an incredible milestone, to make eight semi-finals in a row. It’s never happened… it is a prestigious competition, and one of the toughest, special opponents for all of us, Liverpool.”
City have dominated English football with six Premier League titles, two FA Cups and five League Cups since Guardiola joined in 2016, but Liverpool have been a constant thorn in his side throughout his coaching career.
As a coach, Guardiola has only nine victories and seven draws in 26 matches against Liverpool, his worst win rate against a Premier League club.
City have beaten Liverpool twice in the Premier League this season, but had to dig deep for a late comeback when they won 2-1 at Anfield in February.
“So many times they have been the rival, the biggest, biggest one… top contender, top class players, all of them. Hopefully we have to perform in the level we did against Arsenal to reach the next step,” Guardiola said.
The manager also praised Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah, who has announced his departure in the summer.
“Absolutely. One of the greatest. The numbers, the consistency. What a player… absolute legend, of course for Liverpool, but (also) for the Premier League,” Guardiola said.
Guardiola, however, avoided commenting on his own midfielder Rodri, who said he was open to a move to Real Madrid when his contract with City runs out at the end of this season.
“No clue, no opinion… because I know the intention of the club, I know the intention, I think, of him, but I don’t know,” Guardiola said.’
-Reuters
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