We already met all the quarter-finalists in this year’s FA Cup.
This season we were the witnesses of surprising results. In the fourth round appeared only 7 Premier League teams. Liverpool, Tottenham, Arsenal were already eliminated.
As the first team to advance to the next round was Watford. At the beginning they received a rival from the sixth league, Woking, which they didn’t have any problem to win with. Then the team won with Newcastle, again with the 2:0 result. In Friday’s match Watford outplayed QPR.
On Saturday another three teams advanced in the tournament: Brighton, Millwall and Manchester City. ‘Seagulls’ beat confidently Bournemouth 3:1, but in the next round they had problems with second-league West Brom. Only a rematch, won 3:1, selected the winner. In the fifth round 14th team in Premier League met again the club from Championship, Derby, and for the second time came out victorious.
After a win with Hull, Millwall surprised their fans with outplaying Everton with a goal in injury time. Advance to the quarter finals Londoners achieved by beating third-league Wimbledon.
Manchester City on other hand has a vacuous adventure in FA Cup this season. Victories 7:0 over Rotherham, 5:0 against Burnley – only Newport managed to score a goal against ‘The Citizens’, but in the end it was not worth much. Champions of England won 4:1. So far City’s opponents are not a challenge for them.
On Sunday Wolves, Crystal Palace and Swansea joined the rest among quarter-finalist. Espirito Santo’s proteges first surprisingly eliminated Liverpool, then need an extra match to advance further, as they drew a first match against Shrewsbury. The place among the best eight teams Wolves secured with a win against Bristol City from Championship.
Crystal Palace had a bit easier road to quarter final. First they outplayed fourth-league Grimsby, then won unexpectedly with Tottenham. In the round of 16 Londoners eliminated Doncaster.
Swansea is the only team outside England to play at this stage. They advanced with three-goals advantage in three matches in row. At the beginning Welshmen won with their rivals from Championship, Aston Villa, then beat Gillingham and Brentford, both with the 4:1 result.
The last team to advance to the next round was Manchester United. Their only relatively easy opponent was Reading, but later ‘The Red Devils’ had to outplay Arsenal and yesterday – Chelsea. Both London teams were beaten with two-goals advantage.
[photo: The Emirates FA Cup Facebook]
