FA Cup Round Up: Liverpool's unconvincing start, Newcastle out

Liverpool had VAR to thank as they settled for a replay against Wolves after a 2-2 result at Anfield on Saturday. (Photo credit: GOAL)

The FA Cup as always served some shocks on Saturday with lower league club Sheffield Wednesday beating and dumping Newcastle out of the cup competition.

The Magpies lost 2-1 at Sheffield with Windass getting the two goals to send Eddie Howe’s side crashing and despite the form of the visitors, it played out again that the FA Cup respects no names or pedigree; on the flip side, Newcastle can now focus on league football.

It took a second-half Harry Kane goal for Tottenham to dispatch Portsmouth; the North London side had to shore things up at the back to avoid an upset with the visitors threatening late on to level things up after Kane sent one to the far corner on the hour mark.

Nathan Jones can have a breather at Southampton after overseeing his first positive result as a Saints manager following a 2-1 win at Crystal Palace. The Saints came back from a goal down to beat Patrick Vieira’s side to advance to the next round.

Leicester survived a potential upset away at Gillingham as a Kelechi Iheanacho strike earned the Foxes a win that sends them to the next round. Having been a fringe player this season, the Nigerian striker combined with fellow striker Jamie Vardy to give Brendan Rodgers something to think about.

It’s going from bad to worse for Gary O’Neil as Burnley went to the Vitality Stadium and returned with an FA Cup fourth-round ticket after finding the back of the net four times. The Cherries thought they could rally late but Vincent Kompany’s lads ran out 4-2 winners.

There were wins for Premier League sides Fulham, Brighton and Westham. The Lilywhites beat Hull City 2-0 while Brighton hammered Michael Carrick’s Middlesbrough 5-1. Westham left it late but Brentford’s old boy Said Benrahma’s strike was the difference as the Bees bow out of the competition.

Liverpool and Wolves will have to do it again at the Molineux after the first attempt ended 2-2 but VAR will have to explain to Wolves fans how a third that would have been the winner got ruled offside with replays showing nothing conclusive.

Liverpool’s FA Cup defense started in an unconvincing manner and they will have to cope with fixture congestion. Darwin Nunes had canceled out a Goncalo Guedes opener which came from a bizarre Alison error before Mohammed Salah fired Liverpool in front; Hee Chang-Hwang ensured a replay with a leveler on the 66^th minute.

Manchester City will host Chelsea on Sunday to kickstart their FA Cup journey and it’s left to be seen what version of Chelsea will show up at the Etihad. The Blues lost to City in the league few days ago and also lost Raheem Sterling and Christian Pulisic in the process but two of their new signings could be eligible to start.