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Watford v Crystal Palace
In the first fixture of the FA Cup weekend, Watford hosted Crystal Palace at Vicerage Road. In the 27th minute, Etienne Capoue opened the scoring in the tie for Watford as he collected the ball inside the box and fired the ball into the roof of the net.
It took Crystal Palace until the second-half to respond, a Michy Batshuayi goal in the 62nd minute levelling the scoring at 1-1 with just under 30 minutes left to play. Watford won the game through substitute Andre Gray, the forward scoring after being on the pitch for 121 seconds, securing the Hornets’ trip to Wembley after a smart finish from a wonderful Roberto Pereyra assist.
Watford’s Andre Gray scores the winner to send Watford to the semi-final of the FA Cup. Credit: London News Online
Swansea City v Manchester City
Next, Swansea took on Manchester City at the Liberty Stadium. The Citizens set the early pace with shots from Leroy Sane and David Silva being equalled by Kristoffer Nordfeldt in the Swansea goal.
In the 20th minute, a lovely first touch from Connor Roberts forced Fabian Delph to lunge in with a tackle and concede a penalty which Matt Grimes converted perfectly to open the scoring for Swansea.
Nine minutes later, lovely combination play from the quick trio of Nathan Dyer, Daniel James and Bersant Celina grabbed a second for the Swans. The ex-City player Celina latched onto a pass from Nathan Dyer and curled the ball into the top right corner to make it 2-0. The Welsh side were in dreamland at half-time but the job was far from done against the champions.
Man City pegged a goal back against the Swans with a lovely outside of the foot finish from Bernardo Silva in the 69th minute after the home side failed to clear the ball.
City levelled the scoring from a controversial penalty as Cameron Carter-Vickers was adjudged to have fouled Raheem Sterling in the box. Replays showed that the on-loan Tottenham defender had got a clear touch on the ball but with no VAR in play due Swansea not being a Premier League ground, referee Andre Marriner’s decision stood.
There was an air of luck over the conversion of the penalty also, Sergio Aguero’s penalty rebounding off the post onto the back of Swansea goalkeeper Nordfeldt and into the back of the net.
The VAR debate was not done there. In the 88th minute, Pep Guardiola’s men completed the comeback thanks to a low Aguero header which replays again showed was offside and would have been ruled out if reviewed.
Thankfully for City no VAR was in place as they overcame a two-goal half-time deficit to book their place in the final four.
Sergio Aguero scores the winner for Manchester City in a late comeback for City. Credit: Soccer Laduma
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Manchester United
In the final game on Saturday, Wolves faced Manchester United at Molineux with United seeking to go one better than the runners-up status achieved in last year’s competition.
The first half was a tense affair with very few chances being created, Diogo Jota’s effort from distance that forced Sergio Romero into a good save representing the best chance of the half.
After the interval, Wolves started to assert their dominance on the match as Nuno Espírito Santo’s team pinned United in their own half.
They turned chances into goals as Wolves striker Raul Jimenez opened the scoring after he struck a low shot on the turn past Romero in the United goal.
Wolves did not stop attacking the United goal as they launched an attack six minutes after the first goal. Jota received a brilliant pass as he took on Luke Shaw and then Chris Smalling shortly before firing a low shot into the corner of the net to send Wolves through to Wembley.
Marcus Rashford scored a late goal in the tie but it proved a consolation for the Red Devils as Wolves progressed.
Millwall v Brighton
In the final game of the FA Cup weekend, Millwall hosted Chris Hughton’s Brighton a the Den.
After a dull first half, Millwall opened the scoring in the 70th minute as Alex Pearce headed the ball into the back of the net to send the Lions fans crazy.
Nine minutes later, the Millwall fans were celebrating yet again as their side went two up through a goal scored by Aiden O’Brien. The Irish international arriving in the box to tap home from close range.
Brighton pulled a goal back in the 88th minute with a well-struck effort by Jurgen Locadia beating David Martin before the Seagulls completed a late comeback.
With seemingly the last kick of the game an in-swinging Solly March free-kick beat everyone including Millwall keeper Martin, who made a huge error in failing to clear as the ball deflected off him and into the goal, sending the tie to extra-time.
Brighton beat Millwall 5-4 on penalties to secure their place in the FA Cup semi-final. Credit: Sportskeeda
Millwall midfielder Shaun Williams had the biggest opportunity to settle the game in extra-time as he fired the shot towards the bottom corner, with young prospect Mahlon Romeo failing to follow up after a good Matthew Ryan save.
Both teams had half-chances during the extra period but the game couldn’t be settled in extra-time and penalties would decide which team would grace the Wembley field in a couple of weeks time.
Brighton striker Glenn Murray and Millwall defender both missed their penalties as the tie went to sudden death after five penalties each.
Lewis Dunk scored to make it 5-4 and pile the pressure on fellow centre-back Jake Cooper for Millwall.
Cooper stepped up and blazed the ball over the bar, ending Millwall’s amazing cup run and sending Brighton into the FA Cup semi-final.
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