Chelsea And City Claim Wins As United And Spurs Settle For Draw In FA Cup Third Round

 

Two first-half goals from Callum Hudson Odoi and Ross Barkley were enough to send Chelsea into the fourth round of the English FA Cup at the expense of Championship side, Nottingham Forest, who were second-best for most of the encounter.

With a home match against Burnley to look forward to at the weekend, Frank Lampard opted to rest some of his first-team stars with fringe players like Batshuayi, Hudson Odoi, Caballero, Christensen, Kovacic and Pedro receiving the nod and it was two of those who combined to put the Blues ahead. Hudson Odoi, who has been on the receiving end of a barrage of criticisms lately, benefitted from a Pedro assist to put the Blues ahead after just 6 minutes with Ross Barkley doubling the team's lead in the 33rd minute.

In the blue half of Manchester, a 19th-minute Zinchenko effort put the Citizens ahead against league two side, Port Vale. With a host of young players starring in the encounter, especially in defence where there was a complete reshuffling of the back four that started the Premier League win against Everton on New Year's Day, it was not surprising to see City concede an equalizer thanks to the efforts of Port Vale's attacker, Pope.

However, a flurry of goals from Aguero, Foden, as well as a maiden strike from young centre back, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, saw City claim a 4-1 victory to continue their winning run.

Meanwhile, it was more of a grim affair for the other Manchester team, as United failed to advance past Wolves in a wholly drab affair where they failed to muster a single shot on target. With several second-string players coming into the side, it was expected the team would take a while to gel.

However, they never did gel, and only a brave reflex stop from Romero kept them in the competition with the Red Devils having to settle for an unenviable rematch at Old Trafford to determine the winner.

It was a similar story for Tottenham who began their run without talismanic captain Harry Kane - who went down with an injury in their 1-0 defeat to Southampton - with a dreary 1-1 stalemate against Championship side, Middlesborough at the Riverside Stadium.

Fletcher continued his scoring form, grabbing his fifth goal in a row in the 50th minute after the two sides had played out an uneventful first half. The return of Son from injury could not spur a Spurs comeback, however, with the 61st effort from Lucas only enough to guarantee a rematch at White Hart Lane.

Finally, Liverpool continued their imperious strive for top honours as they defeated Everton by a goal to nil in the second of three Merseyside derbies this season. This encounter, however, did not witness the same gloss as the first which had ended 5-3 in favour of Liverpool, with Klopp handing much-deserved rests to the entire first eleven that started the 2-0 victory over Sheffield United bar Joe Gomez.

New signing, Minamino, got his Reds career off, playing alongside a swathe of teenagers like Jones, Elliott as well as Chirivella. Everton, who have witnessed a revival following the hiring of Italian tactician, Carlo Ancelotti, fancied their chances of causing an upset with the Toffees entirely controlling the first half albeit with no end results.

In total, they had three attempts on target, with Walcott looking especially lively. However, Liverpool soon took over dominance in the second half and an exceptional Jones strike from distance ricocheted off the crossbar and into the net to book Liverpool's place in the next round.

Other results from the third round matches are displayed below, while Arsenal welcomes Leeds for the final match of this round later tonight.

THIRD ROUND RESULTS
Charlton Athletic 0-1 West Bromwich Albion
Chelsea 2-0 Nottingham Forest
Crewe Alexandra 1-3 Barnsley
Middlesbrough 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur
QPR 5-1 Swansea City
Sheffield United 2-1 AFC Fylde

Bristol Rovers 2-2 Coventry City
Burton Albion 2-4 Northampton Town
Crystal Palace 0-1 Derby County
Liverpool 1-0 Everton
Gillingham 0-2 West Ham United
Bristol City 1-1 Shrewsbury Town
Millwall 3-0 Newport County
Rochdale 1-1 Newcastle United
Rotherham 2-3 Hull City United
Birmingham 2-1 Blackburn Rovers City
Burnley 4-2 Peterborough United
Brighton 0-1 Sheffield Wednesday
Cardiff City 2-2 Carlisle United
Fulham 2-1 Aston Villa
Oxford United 4-1 Hartlepool United
Southampton 2-0 Huddersfield Town
Brentford 1-0 Stoke City
Preston 2-4 Norwich City
Reading 2-2 Blackpool
Watford 3-3 Tranmere Rovers
Bournemouth 4-0 Luton Town
Leicester City 2-0 Wigan Athletic
Wolves 0-0 Manchester United
Fleetwood 1-2 Portsmouth
Man City 4-1 Port Vale