There were scares a-plenty for Premier League clubs in Saturday’s third round of the FA Cup, though all actual ousters came at the hands of fellow top-flight clubs.
After Exeter City and Wycombe Wanderers set the stage for the 10 a.m. ET matches by drawing Liverpool and Aston Villa, a wild slate of 22 matches kicked off.
[ VIDEO: Micah Richards argues with pitchside Villa fans ].
West Bromwich Albion were seconds away from being upset by Bristol City, but James Morrison scored in the fourth minute of stoppage to make it 2-2 and force a replay.
Manchester United needed every single minute at Old Trafford to knock off a game Sheffield United side, as Memphis Depay won a late PK and Wayne Rooney converted it to push a sad-looking Red Devils side past the Blades.
West Ham United also scored late, with Nikica Jelavic finishing a chance in the 85th minute to push the Irons past Wolverhampton.
Stoke City got an early scare from hosts Doncaster Rovers, but won 2-1. Bournemouth had a similar situation before topping Birmingham City 2-1.
Arsenal’s quest to threepeat improved as they beat Sunderland 3-1, with USMNT back DeAndre Yedlin playing right back for the Black Cats in a game that was 1-1 at the break. Everton handled Dagenham & Redbridge 2-0.
[ MORE: Four players join USMNT camp ]
Wasteful Newcastle gave precious few chances to Watford, but allowed one past Rob Elliot, as Troy Deeney boosted the Hornets into the fourth round with a 1-0 home win.
In another All-PL tie, Crystal Palace overcame blowing a lead to beat Southampton 2-1 at St. Mary’s.
Manchester City cruised past Norwich City, with Sergio Aguero netting off a fun dribble well inside the 18 and Kelechi Iheanacho making it 2-0 before halftime. Kevin De Bruyne rounded out the scoring at 3-0.
4 – Kelechi Iheanacho has scored or assisted four goals in three starts for Man City this season (2 goals, 2 assists). Primed.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 9, 2016
The only non-league side, Eastleigh United, came within a whisper of the fourth round after an own goal from Bolton’s Dorian Dervite. The horrific home pitch didn’t help either side, but the visitors found a late equalizer from Darren Pratley off a scrum in the box to force a replay.
Best of luck to my old team @eastleighfc in the #FACup third round today. I smell an upset…!
— Joe Prince-Wright (@JPW_NBCSports) January 9, 2016
Nearly correct, JPW. Nearly correct!
Full schedule
Exeter City 2-2 Liverpool
Wycombe Wanderers 1-1 Aston Villa
Arsenal 3-1 Sunderland
Birmingham City 1-2 Bournemouth
Brentford 0-1 Walsall
Bury 0-0 Bradford
Colchester United 2-1 Charlton Athletic
Doncaster Rovers 1-2 Stoke City
Eastleigh 1-1 Bolton
Everton 2-0 Dagenham & Redbridge
Hartlepool United 1-2 Derby County
Huddersfield Town 2-2 Reading
Hull City 1-0 Brighton and Hove Albion
Leeds United 2-0 Rotherham United
Middlesbrough 1-2 Burnley
Newport – Blackburn — Postponed (waterlogged pitch)
Northampton 2-2 MK Dons
Norwich City 0-3 Manchester City
Nottingham Forest 1-0 Queens Park Rangers
Peterborough 2-0 Preston North End
Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 Fulham
Southampton 1-2 Crystal Palace
Watford 1-0 Newcastle United
West Ham United 0-0 Wolverhampton
Manchester United 1-0 Sheffield United
Oxford United vs. Swansea City – 7 a.m. ET Sunday
Carlisle vs. Yeovil Town — 9 a.m. ET Sunday
Chelsea vs. Scunthorpe United — 9 a.m. ET Sunday
Tottenham Hotspur vs. Leicester City — 11 a.m. ET Sunday
Cardiff City vs. Shrewsbury Town — 1 p.m. Et Sunday