FA Cup
FORMER SUPER EAGLES’ TARGET, TAMMY ABRAHAM SCORES HATTRICK IN CHELSEA’S FA CUP 4THH ROUND WIN
Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham who Super Eagles’ handlers pursued without success three years ago on Sunday grabbed a hat-trick in a 3-1 win over second-tier Luton Town to book the Premier League side’s place in the FA Cup fifth round away to Barnsley.
Chelsea took the lead in the 11th minute when a quick throw-in caught Luton’s defence napping, allowing Timo Werner to make a run down the right channel and cut the ball back for Abraham who fired a low shot past goalkeeper Simon Sluga.
Abraham doubled the lead six minutes later when he flicked a header from Reece James’ cross past Sluga, whose indecisiveness after coming off the line saw him stranded as the ball sailed over him into the net.
Luton pulled one back on the half-hour mark when Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga failed to keep out Jordan Clark’s low effort which squeezed between his hand and leg into the net.
But Chelsea began to dominate in the second half and the introduction of Callum Hudson-Odoi had an instant impact as his one-two with Billy Gilmour allowed him to fire the ball into the six-yard box for Abraham to get his third with a simple tap-in.
Werner had the chance to make it 4-1 with a penalty after he was fouled by Clark but the German, who has scored one goal in his last 15 appearances, saw his shot well saved by Sluga.
Manager Frank Lampard acknowledged that the misfiring forward will feel disheartened but said it will be up to him and the team to lift his spirits so he can get back to scoring ways.
The Germany international, who cost the club around 50 million euros (S$80.8 million), has looked low on confidence in recent weeks with his only recent strike against fourth-tier Morecambe in the Cup.
“I’m disappointed for him as Timo gave a lot with his performance today,” Lampard told reporters.
“He was a threat behind, his link up with Tammy, his link up with people around him, it (the penalty miss) is just one of those things. When it’s not going for you, it can happen.
“I missed penalties, I know the feeling. I know he will feel despondent… but he shouldn’t be. It’s my job and his team mates’ job to lift him and he will be fine.”
Arrizabalaga got a rare start and, although he made a mistake for Luton’s goal, Lampard said that was due to a “moment of complacency” from the team and pointed out that the Spaniard made amends after the break.
“On the flip side of that, Kepa makes a really top save in the second half to make sure it doesn’t go to 2-2,” he said.
“It’s very easy for people to focus on that but Kepa hasn’t been playing regularly. Today he’s come in – he’s been training excellently and is a good goalkeeper – and we can give him that one.”
Chelsea’s next opponents Barnsley beat fellow Championship side Norwich City 1-0 on Saturday.
-Reuters
Arsenal survived a genuine scare in the FA Cup fifth round on Saturday as they edged past spirited third-tier Mansfield Town 2-1, with Eberechi Eze’s thunderbolt sending the Premier League leaders into the quarter-finals.
Noni Madueke gave Arsenal the lead going into halftime at Field Mill, but Will Evans equalised for Nigel Clough’s Mansfield before Eze scored in the 66th minute to ensure the top-flight side progressed to the last eight.
“Happy to score. I had the space and the opportunity to shoot. So I took it,” Eze told TNT Sports.
“It was a difficult environment to play in. But we did what we had to do and we are through to the next round, which is the important thing.”
Mikel Arteta named a much-changed side, starting teenagers Max Dowman and Marli Salmon, as Arsenal became the first Premier League side to start a competitive game with two players aged 16 or under in any competition.
However, Arteta’s changes nearly backfired as the hosts, feeding off a raucous home crowd, gave Arsenal a genuine fright with aggressive pressing and infectious energy that clearly unsettled the visitors.
“Before the game, the gaffer said, ‘Have a go. We were not expected to win the game, so have a go and enjoy it,” Mansfield forward Rhys Oates said.
“We created more chances than we thought we could, and we have given them a game.”
Dowman, Arsenal’s youngest-ever FA Cup player at 16, emerged as a lively attacking threat as the top-flight side gradually found their rhythm before Madueke broke the deadlock in the 41st minute.
Madueke, who had an initial shot saved, curled a powerful finish into the far corner to give Arsenal their 100th goal of the season in all competitions.
Clough brought on Evans for the second half, and the Welsh striker made an immediate impact, netting five minutes after coming on.
The 28-year-old wrong-footed a second-guessing Cristhian Mosquera before finishing past Kepa Arrizabalaga in Arsenal’s goal.
“It’s typical, isn’t it? For me to have a league goal drought and then come on for a half against Arsenal and have a goal against them,” Evans said.
Arsenal were rattled but recovered and found the winner when substitute Eze made space for himself and fired a powerful shot from the edge of the box to silence the crowd at Field Mill and keep Arsenal’s quadruple bid on track.
-Reuters
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Chelsea’s Alejandro Garnacho and Joao Pedro struck in extra time to secure a nervy 4–2 win over second‑tier Wrexham and reach the FA Cup quarter‑finals on Saturday as the Premier League giants escaped from the Racecourse Ground after a tough battle.
Garnacho volleyed home from close range in the 97th minute with such force that the ball ricocheted off the back stanchion to give Chelsea the lead for the first time on the night.
Wrexham — who lost George Dobson to a 93rd-minute red card — thought they had equalised deep into added time in the extra period when Lewis Brunt headed home, but he was offside. Pedro then sealed Chelsea’s win with a fine goal in the 125th minute.
Sam Smith had put the Championship side ahead in the 18th when he sprinted onto Callum Doyle’s long pass, took a touch and fired past Robert Sanchez. Chelsea equalised with a huge slice of luck when George Thomason’s attempt to clear Garnacho’s shot struck goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo and rolled in.
Wrexham went back in front after 78 minutes when Doyle diverted the ball past Sanchez after Ryan Longman fired it back into the area from a corner. But Josh Acheampong equalised soon after with a blistering shot into the roof of the net after Dobson slipped to send the game into extra time.
-Reuters
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Arsenal will visit League One Mansfield Town, while Manchester City travel to Newcastle United in a mouth-watering all-Premier League tie following the FA Cup fifth round draw on Monday.
Third-tier Mansfield stunned top-flight strugglers Burnley 2-1 at Turf Moor on Saturday and have been rewarded with a clash against 14-time winners and Premier League leaders Arsenal.
Pep Guardiola’s City face Newcastle in a repeat of one of this season’s League Cup semi-finals, while Premier League bottom side Wolverhampton Wanderers host Liverpool.
Brentford head to West Ham United after an own goal away to sixth-tier Macclesfield, who stunned holders Crystal Palace in the last round, giving them a 1-0 win on Monday.
Championship side Wrexham welcome eight-time winners Chelsea, while Fulham entertain Southampton and Leeds United host another second-tier side in Norwich City.
Sunderland face a second successive away trip after being drawn against Port Vale or Bristol City, whose fourth-round tie has been postponed until March 3 due to a waterlogged pitch.
FA Cup fifth round draw
- Fulham v Southampton
- Port Vale or Bristol City v Sunderland
- Newcastle United v Manchester City
- Leeds United v Norwich City
- Mansfield Town v Arsenal
- Wolverhampton Wanderers v Liverpool
- Wrexham v Chelsea
- West Ham United v Brentford
Matches to be played over the weekend of March 7–8
-Reuters
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