What a weekend of FA Cup football. The fourth round gave us everything: goals, drama, and enough tension to keep everyone on the edge of their seats as Premier League heavyweights flexed their muscles while lower league sides refused to go quietly.
Chelsea kicked off their weekend campaign on Friday night with a commanding 4-0 victory over Hull City at the MKM Stadium, where Portuguese winger Pedro Neto was the star after scoring two goals while Estêvão slotted in the third after a slick move to effectively put the tie beyond doubt.
Manchester City strolled past Salford 2-0, though it took a bit of misfortune to break the deadlock. Poor Alfie Dorrington turned a dangerous cross into his own net under pressure, and Marc Guehi tapped home later to wrap things up.
Liverpool were sharper at Anfield, dismantling Brighton 3-0. Curtis Jones got them going with a composed finish inside the box, Dominik Szoboszlai added a beauty from distance after Liverpool turned the screw, and Mo Salah slotted home a penalty to put the game to bed.
Newcastle had to dig deep against Aston Villa after falling behind to Tammy Abraham’s opener. But Sandro Tonali turned the tie on its head with two crackers: first a tidy finish from a lovely team move, then an absolute rocket from distance. Nick Woltemade added a late third on the counter, and suddenly it was 3-1 to the Magpies.
Arsenal absolutely battered Wigan 4-0 in one of the most one-sided games of the round. Noni Madueke smashed home the first, Gabriel Martinelli bundled in the second, an unfortunate own goal made it three, and Gabriel Jesus capped it off with a calm finish. Wigan barely had a sniff.
Leeds and Birmingham served up a proper cup tie, 1-1 after 90 minutes, following Lukas Nmecha’s opener for Leeds and a scrappy late equalizer that forced extra time. In the end, Leeds held their nerve to win 4-2 on penalties.
Elsewhere, Wolves squeezed past Grimsby 1-0 thanks to Santiago Bueno’s close-range effort, Fulham came from behind to beat Stoke 2-1 with a late Harrison Reed winner after going behind early, and Sunderland edged Oxford 1-0 with a composed first-half penalty from Habib Diarra.
