Mansfield stuns Burnley for another FA Cup shock
Third-tier Mansfield pulled off the latest upset in this year’s FA Cup by knocking out Premier League side Burnley. Louis Reed struck with a stunning long-range free kick in the 80th minute at Turf Moor to complete a comeback 2-1 win in the fourth-round tie on Saturday. “As soon as it left my boot I felt it going in,” he told the BBC. “I have been working on them throughout the week. The lads said, This is your moment, go and take it’. Thankfully, I did.”
As giant-killings go, it might not be as spectacular as non-league Macclesfield’s victory against titleholder Crystal Palace last month —but it is another shock result in soccer’s oldest knockout competition. There was no fairytale for fourth-tier Salford at Manchester City, however, even if it did keep the score down to 2-0 at the Etihad Stadium. Newcastle came back from a goal down to beat 10-man Aston Villa 3-1 and Burton Albion gave West Ham a scare before losing 1-0 in extra time.
Liverpool cruised past Brighton 3-0. Mansfield piles the misery on for Burnley: Mansfield is in dreamland. Burnley’s season just gets worse. Fighting against relegation, Scott Parker’s team suffered the humiliation of being dumped out of the cup by an opponent from two divisions lower. Even after winning just two of its previous 18 games, Burnley still went into the match as the overwhelming favourite. And Parker’s decision to make nine changes to his lineup suggested he thought his team would be able to handle a Mansfield side that sits mid-table in League One.
When Josh Laurent scored in the 21st, it looked like the home team would book its place in the next round. That was until a second-half fightback from Mansfield sparked by Rhys Oates’ header eight minutes after the break. Reed sent the travelling fans wild with his curling free kick from around 25 yards (meters) late on that ensured Mansfield’s best run in the competition since 1975. Man City’s clean sweep is still on: It’s been a very good week for Pep Guardiola’s team, which has closed the gap on Premier League leader Arsenal to four points.
And its four-pronged trophy pursuit is still in good shape after victory against Salford - the team co-owned by Manchester United greats David Beckham and Gary Neville. Not that Guardiola was impressed with the performance against League Two opposition. “The only good news is we go through,” he said. “(It) would be nice to say that mentally we’re exhausted but this is our job and we have to do what we have to do.” City beat Exeter 10-1 in the last round and routed Salford 8-0 last season.
Salford might have feared a similar outcome when Alfie Dorrington scored an own goal in the sixth. But City had to wait until the 81st to score again through Marc Guehi, who has been given a second chance in the cup after being part of the Palace team that was stunned by Macclesfield in the last round. Bizot red costs Villa: Leading 1-0 at home on the brink of halftime, everything changed for Aston Villa when goalkeeper Marco Bizot was stranded outside his box and hacked down Newcastle’s Jacob Murphy.
It likely stopped Murphy from running through to equalize after Tammy Abraham’s early goal. But the red card for Bizot left Villa a man down and Newcastle took full advantage. In the absence of the injured Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali took center stage with two goals - the second a low drive from distance. Nick Woltemade made it 3-1 in the 88th after a mixup in Villa’s defense. Liverpool in cruise control: Liverpool’s Premier League title defense may have unraveled, but Arne Slot’s team has plenty to play for this season.
The Merseyside club is through to the round of 16 in the Champions League and advanced in the FA Cup with a 3-0 win against Brighton. Goals from Curtis Jones, Dominik Szoboszlai and Mohamed Salah from the penalty spot ensured a comfortable win at Anfield.
West Ham scare: Burton, fighting against relegation in the third tier of English soccer, went toe-to-toe with top flight West Ham - forcing the game into extra time at the Pirelli Stadium. It took a 95th-minute solo goal from substitute Crysencio Summerville to separate the teams. A red card for West Ham’s Freddie Potts six minutes later meant there were still some nerves before the final whistle was blown. There was relief all round for West Ham, which is fighting its own relegation battle this season. Norwich beat West Brom 3-1 and Southampton needed extra time to beat Leicester 2-1.
