Chiesa breaks Reds duck while Pilgrims cause upset post-Rooney: Ten things you might have missed from today’s FA Cup action | OneFootball

There’s nothing quite like the FA Cup.

As the oldest national competition in world football, it continues to deliver thrilling giant killings, unexpected upsets, and heartwarming fairytales.

This season’s edition kicked off this week with the much-anticipated third round, where teams from the Premier League and Championship join the action. Today’s matches followed a busy 48-hour period during which Cardiff, Everton, Fulham, Wycombe, and Aston Villa secured their places in the next round.

With no fewer than 17 matches taking place on Saturday, it’s easy to miss some important or memorable moments. But don’t worry—Squawka is here to recap the key highlights you may have overlooked.

Chiesa breaks through as Anfield herald new star

The signing of Federico Chiesa raised a few eyebrows, given Liverpool’s already stacked attack. However, there can never be too much of a good thing, especially since the Reds are competing on multiple fronts this season. Chiesa has had a tough time with injuries, making only four appearances in all competitions prior to today. His contributions included a one-minute cameo in the Champions League and an 18-minute appearance in the Premier League. In the EFL Cup, he played a total of 104 minutes.

Today, against Accrington Stanley, Chiesa felt like he had a breakthrough. He came on at half-time for Dominik Szoboszlai and, in the dying minutes of the match, with Liverpool leading 3-0, he scored his first goal for the Merseyside giants to make it 4-0. Naturally, given what he has been through, this moment was met with universal enthusiasm from the Anfield faithful and viewers at home.

Chiesa wasn’t the only player from Arne Slot’s side who received positive reactions. Wataru Endo also featured as an emergency centre-back, playing reasonably well for the 79 minutes he was on the pitch, albeit against limited opposition. The real headline, however, was Rio Ngumoha. At just 16 years and 135 days old, he became Liverpool’s youngest-ever starter, breaking the record previously held by Harvey Elliott. Coincidentally, Elliott played on the opposite flank, with both supporting Darwin Núñez in attack.

Third round curse

2022 is starting to feel like an anomaly. That year, Middlesbrough were eliminated by Chelsea in the FA Cup quarter-finals. However, in five of their previous six entries into the competition, they fell at the first hurdle, including today’s match when Blackburn ran out as 1-0 winners. This setback means that Boro are out at the third-round stage for the third consecutive season, something the club last experienced during their campaigns between 1984-85 to 1986-87.

In what has been a challenging season for Wolves, there have been a few bright spots. Matheus Cunha, currently serving a suspension, and Rayan Aït-Nouri were instrumental as the Premier League side narrowly overcame Bristol City this afternoon. Aït-Nouri put the visitors in front, followed by Rodrigo Gomes, who doubled their lead. Scott Twine made the contest interesting by pulling one back just before half-time. However, Vítor Pereira’s side held on to secure their passage to the next round. Notably, Aït-Nouri has had the most goal involvement of any Premier League defender across all competitions this season, leading his nearest rival by at least two goals.

Foxes march on

Heading into today’s contest, it was notable that none of the last 11 encounters between Leicester and QPR had ended in a draw, and this trend continued with Leicester securing a decisive 6-2 victory, highlighted by a brace from James Justin. This win marks a significant achievement for Leicester, who have now triumphed in 19 of their last 25 FA Cup fixtures, with only six losses, having first claimed the trophy in the 2020-21 season.

Indeed, since the 2017-18 season, Leicester has established themselves as a formidable force in the FA Cup, winning 18 matches, a record surpassed only by Manchester City (31), Chelsea (27), and Manchester United (25). Their consistent performance underscores their competitive edge in the tournament, further solidifying their reputation in English football.

Chelsea maintain their streak

Stamford Bridge wasn’t the place to be if anyone was expecting an upset. Chelsea emerged as 2-0 winners over Morecambe, with Tosin Adarabioyo scoring the first goal in the 39th minute after Christopher Nkunku missed a penalty in the 17th minute. Nkunku made up for his earlier miss by scoring early in the second half.

The floodgates then opened: Adarabioyo on the scoresheet again before Joao Felix registered his own brace. Chelsea has now successfully progressed from 36 of their last 37 FA Cup ties against teams from lower divisions, maintaining an impressive streak that includes winning each of their previous 21 matches since a 4-2 home defeat to Bradford City in January 2015.

The first major Premier League exit

But there was a surprising turn of events in west London, as Brentford were eliminated by Championship outfit Plymouth, who came into the match on an 11-game winless streak in the second division of English football (with five draws and six losses). This left them at the bottom of the table, sitting 24th, and resulted in Wayne Rooney’s exit as manager.

With a 33-position gap between the sides in the English football pyramid, skipper Morgan Whittaker scored the crucial goal in the 82nd minute, creating a piece of history and marking the first real shock of the tournament. Oh, what their former boss must be thinking.

Before this match, Plymouth had not won any of their last 16 FA Cup matches against top-flight opponents (with two draws and 14 losses), since their last victory, a 1-0 win against West Brom in February 1984. Excluding any all-Premier League matchups (such as Aston Villa vs. West Ham), this elimination represented the first top-flight exit by an outsider in the tournament.

Enciso ends drought in battle of the birds

Today’s match between Norwich and Brighton was an exciting one for birdwatching enthusiasts. It could easily have been a Premier League fixture this season if the Canaries hadn’t stumbled at the final hurdle last term. However, judging by today’s performance, they may not be quite ready, especially given their current position in the Championship, sitting in 11th place and four points off the play-off spots.

Brighton produced a comfortable 4-0 victory at Carrow Road, with a notable moment being Julio Enciso scoring the Seagulls’ third goal. The highly regarded 20-year-old attacking midfielder recorded his fifth goal for the club, marking his first since the 2022/23 season and ending a 30-game scoreless streak.

The most joyful moment, though, came when Solly March scored Brighton’s fourth goal. After recovering from a knee injury that kept him out for the opening five months of the season, and indeed since October 2023 (resulting in 59 games missed across 429 days), he came on in the 71st minute to continue his comeback. Just a few minutes later, he celebrated his first goal for the Seagulls since August 2023.

Sosa grabs his chance

Paraguayan midfielder Ramon Sosa cryptically alluded to his frustration over a lack of playing time at Nottingham Forest a month ago. At that time, he had made only 10 league appearances, totalling just 140 minutes, without a single start. Head coach Nuno Espírito Santo acknowledged that Sosa (a £9.3 million signing from Argentine outfit CA Talleres last summer) is just behind Jota Silva in the pecking order.

However, today Sosa was given a rare opportunity to start for the surprising Premier League title challengers. Positioned as one of the two number 10s behind Taiwo Awoniyi, Sosa seized this chance by scoring a goal and providing an assist as Forest triumphed over Luton. His goal that doubled Forest’s lead was only his second of the season, with his first having rescued a point at Brighton on matchday five.

Flemming makes the minutes count

Zian Flemming is undoubtedly the man for Burnley at the moment. Just a week ago, he secured a victory in the derby against Blackburn, further infuriating the Ewood Park faithful by celebrating with his shirt on a corner flag. Although he started on the bench against Reading, Scott Parker called upon the Dutch midfielder in the 94th minute during extra time, as the match was tied at 1-1 after 90 minutes. Flemming quickly made an impact, putting the visitors ahead six minutes later and then sealing the victory with his second goal nine minutes afterwards. That’s two goals in just a 26-minute appearance—not a bad day’s work!

Kids help City win the other Manchester derby

Gary Neville had already seen his other Manchester team defeat City at the Etihad Stadium this season, but lightning wasn’t going to strike twice. Before the resurgence of Wrexham, there may have been no lower-league football club more talked about than Salford City. They entered this evening’s fixture — their first-ever appearance in the FA Cup third round — against Pep Guardiola’s men as major underdogs.

A heavy defeat was anticipated, especially after last season’s FA Cup finalists raced into an early lead within eight minutes. Jérémy Doku put the hosts ahead before 20-year-old forward Divin Mubama, making his senior debut for the Premier League champions after relocating from West Ham last summer, doubled City’s lead. This was his second professional goal, having previously scored once in 18 appearances for the Hammers.

19-year-old Nico O’Reilly, playing his fifth game for his boyhood club, celebrated his first goal moments after Salford spurned a golden chance to pull one back. Jack Grealish then converted from the spot after half-time. James McAtee helped himself to a hat-trick — taking his overall tally for the club to two to five in one sitting — while Doku added another from 12 yards as City ran out an emphatic 8-0 winners.

Incidentally, this was the first-ever meeting between City and Salford. The Citizens have won their last 18 matches against opponents for the first time (in all competitions), since a 2-1 loss to Lyon in September 2018.

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