Those looking for dramatic David-beats-Goliath stories from this weekend’s FA Cup action were solely disappointed. Only one Premier League side fell to lower-level competition, but as that side was Crystal Palace, who lost to Championship Wigan, it’s a bit difficult to even classify that game as a “cup-set”.
Watford, to their credit, did their best to provide us with a genuine thriller. The Championship side, currently 15th, went to Manchester City and nearly came away winners. The Hornets were up 2-0 by the 30-minute mark, and carried that lead until 30 minutes to the end. Then Sergio Agüero happened. The Argentine scored a hat-trick, with Aleksandar Kolarov adding a fourth, to make sure City advanced and kept their dreams of a quadruple alive.
(READ MORE: MANCHESTER CITY COME BACK TO BEAT WATFORD)
Liverpool started off Saturday’s action with a routine 2-0 win over Bournemouth, and Everton closed it in similar style by beating Stevenage 4-0. All in all nine Premier League sides advanced to the final sixteen: Arsenal, Liverpool, Swansea, Cardiff City, Manchester City, Southampton, Hull City, Sunderland and Everton.
The remaining slots are filled by Championship sides Brighton and Hove Albion, Charlton, Sheffield Wednesday and Wigan. Two League One sides remain hopeful of making it to the final sixteen: Sheffield United play Fulham on Sunday, while Preston North End face a replay against Nottingham Forest.
Finally, one of Chelsea or Stoke will be the final addition to Round 5. The two sides meet tomorrow in the final match (excluding replays) of Round 4.
Friday’s Results
Arsenal 4-0 Coventry
Nottingham Forest 0-0 Preston
Saturday’s Results
Bournemouth 0-2 Liverpool
Birmingham 1-2 Swansea
Bolton 0-1 Cardiff
Huddersfield 0-1 Charlton
Manchester City 4-2 Watford
Port Vale 1-3 Brighton
Rochdale 1-2 Sheffield Wednesday
Southampton 2-0 Yeovil
Southend 0-2 Hull City
Sunderland 1-0 Kidderminster
Wigan 2-1 Crystal Palace
Stevenage 0-4 Everton
Sunday’s Fixtures
Sheffield United vs. Fulham
Chelsea vs. Stoke City
