There really isn’t a competition quite like the FA Cup. The Fourth Round draw promised goals, drama and upsets. As a whole, it delivered. We had goals. We had drama and we had upsets. What more could you ask for? In our FA Cup review, we take a look at some of the biggest talking points from across the weekend.
The Swans swept aside
Bournemouth blitzed Swansea City to kick off the Fourth Round of the FA Cup. Andoni Iraola’s side scored three goals inside the opening 14 minutes and added a further two before the half-time whistle. The second half wasn’t anywhere near as exciting for the home side but it didn’t need to be.
The hosts scored with every effort on target. Remarkably, though, the Cherries managed zero shots on target after the break while the away side didn’t manage a single effort in the second half.
It was a deserved victory for the Premier League outfit. The most impressive statistic from the match was that they managed 19 shots and not one arrived from outside of the penalty area. That is a sign of a well-drilled attacking unit capable of creating high-value chances.
City snatch a late winner
Tottenham Hotspur, in front of a home crowd, failed to live up to the billing against Manchester City. Spurs have a fairly decent record against the reigning Premier League champions when on home turf but Ange Postecoglou’s side severely struggled on Friday evening.
They had just a single shot across the 90 minutes and failed to limit Man City. The visitors carved out chances worth an Expected Goals value of 2.23 while also finishing the match with 18 shots to their name. For 87 minutes, it appeared as though Spurs might get away with a replay but Nathan Ake popped up with the winner with just two minutes of normal time remaining.
The win for Pep Guardiola’s men now makes it seven on the trot across all competitions. They seem to be hitting form just at the right time.
An upset at Portman Road
Ipswich Town are flying high in the Championship and would’ve felt confident of reaching the Fifth Round when drawn, at home, to National League South side Maidstone United.
Yet it was very much a smash-and-grab on Saturday afternoon as the non-league side stunned the team currently sitting in second place in England’s second tier.
Maidstone managed just two shots during the game but both efforts beat Christian Walton. The away side had just 22% of the ball at Portman Road and were under pressure throughout. The Tractor Boys had a total of 38 shots, six of which were classed as big chances, and amassed an Expected Goals haul of 3.66 They attempted almost 500 more passes than their visitors but weren’t able to make any of that dominance count, losing 2-1 in one of the surprise results of the weekend.
Luton leave it late
For the second time this season, Luton have beaten Everton at Goodison Park. On both occasions, the visitors claimed a 2-1 win. Whereas in the Premier League fixture between the two sides, Rob Edwards’ took a 2-0 lead and then had to hold on, this time around they left it late to claim victory to progress into the Fifth Round.
Vitaliy Mykolenko had given Luton the lead with an own goal in the first half before Jack Harrison levelled things up after the break. The Toffees were pressing for a winner late on but it was Luton who found one after a bit of a scramble in the penalty area in the 96th minute. Cauley Woodrow, off the bench, was the hero.
In truth, it was a deserved win for the visitors. They had more of the ball and better chances against a disappointing Everton team who should’ve had a point to prove in a competition that offered them their last chance of silverware this season.
Sheffield United implode at home
It was a strange game at Bramall Lane between Premier League duo Sheffield United and Brighton. The hosts took a 2-0 lead with Facundo Buonanotte scoring a spectacular effort from distance before João Pedro cooly rolled home a penalty into the bottom corner with just 30 minutes on the clock.
In the space of four minutes, just prior to the break, Sheffield United levelled things up and we had a proper cup game on our games.
However, just seven minutes into the second half, Brighton were awarded another penalty. Pedro fired home and the Brazilian completed his hat-trick in the 67th minute. Danny Welbeck added a fifth for the visitors in stoppage time to really add an exclamation point to the proceedings.
Jürgen Klopp’s farewell tour starts with a win
On Friday morning, Jürgen Klopp announced he would be leaving Liverpool at the end of the season. On Sunday afternoon, Anfield welcomed him and his players for the FA Cup tie against Norwich City. Emotion could’ve gotten the better of everyone and there was a chance of an upset. But the Reds looked locked in and focused, even after the away side scored an equaliser against the run of play not long after Curtis Jones had given the hosts the lead.
Liverpool youngster Conor Bradley caught the eye and finished with two assists as the Reds had five different players on the scoresheet in a 5-2 win over the Championship side.
The scoreline made it look more like a game than it was. Liverpool finished with an Expected Goals haul of 3.57 having carved out seven big chances. By comparison, Norwich finished with an xG total of just 0.12.
Newport County stun Manchester United
Manchester United, eventually, had enough to knock League Two side Newport County out of the FA Cup, but the Red Devils sure made hard work of it. Erik Ten Hag’s side raced into a 2-0 lead at Rodney Parade with Bruno Fernandes and Kobbie Manoo scoring. But Brynn Morris halved the deficit towards the end of the first half before Will Evans equalised just moments after the break.
It was end-to-end, with United finishing the game having taken just five more shots than their hosts. Antony put the Premier League side back into the lead and after some Newport near misses, Rasmus Højlund killed the tie off with a goal in stoppage time.
(Images from IMAGO)
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