Edin Dzeko opened his goalscoring account for Manchester City to salvage a 1-1 draw with Notts County as Tottenham Hotspur were sent crashing out of the FA Cup in a humiliating 4-0 rout by Fulham on Sunday.
Bosnian striker Dzeko netted in the 80th minute to rescue City, who were left staring down the barrel of a shock fourth-round upset after Neal Bishop headed the lowly Magpies in front on 59 minutes at Meadow Lane.
City — who have spent more than ￡300 million (US$476 million) on players since their takeover by the Abu Dhabi United Group in 2008 — are currently 58 places above Notts County, who are languishing in 18th spot in League One, but the gulf between Roberto Mancini’s expensively assembled squad and Paul Ince’s side was rarely obvious as a quagmire of a pitch acted as a leveler.
Photo: Reuters
“We didn’t want a replay before the game, but I am happy to have one now,” relieved City boss Mancini said.
Notts County manager Paul Ince, meanwhile, said his side deserved credit for stifling City.
“On days like this, the club from the lower echelons should be given the credit they deserve and not have people say City did not play well,” Ince said. “We stopped them playing. It just felt like the clock stopped after we scored.”
Photo: EPA
In the most one-sided result of the day, high-flying Tottenham suffered a four-goal mauling at Craven Cottage, their heaviest ever defeat to Fulham.
A disastrous opening 15 minutes saw Spurs concede two penalties — both converted by Danny Murphy — and captain Michael Dawson red-carded.
Shambolic defending allowed Brede Hangeland to make it 3-0 on 23 minutes, before Moussa Dembele scored a fine individual effort on halftime to pile on the agony for Spurs.
In other fourth round matches on Sunday, 10-man Arsenal needed a late Cesc Fabregas penalty to overcome Huddersfield Town 2-1, while Stoke City downed Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0 to advance to the fifth round.
In a thrilling encounter at Upton Park, West Ham United striker Victor Obinna scored a hat-trick as the Premier League side overcame Nottingham Forest 3-2 to advance.
Stoke, meanwhile, ended Wolves’ FA Cup campaign after defender Robert Huth struck on 81 minutes at Molineux. Wolves had a golden chance to equalize from the penalty spot late on, but Thomas Sorensen saved Nenad Milijas’ spot-kick.
At the Emirates, second-half substitute Fabregas scored from the spot on 86 minutes after League One side Huddersfield had fought back bravely from 1-0 down to level in an open encounter.
Fabregas’ winner came after Terriers defender Jamie McCombe flattened Nicklas Bendtner in the area.
The Gunners, who had Sebastien Squillaci sent off just before halftime, had earlier taken the lead through a Peter Clarke own-goal on 22 minutes. Huddersfield hit back through an Alan Lee header on 66 minutes to leave Arsenal facing the unwelcome prospect of a fourth-round replay, before Fabregas’ late spot-kick saved the day.
Victory came at a cost for Arsenal, however, with in-form midfielder Samir Nasri suffering a serious hamstring injury that could rule him out of his team’s Champions League clash with Barcelona on Feb. 16.
“It looks a serious hamstring injury and that’s usually three weeks. We have to see whether it’s a grade one or two tear,” Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger said. “It’s big blow for us at the moment. It’s two weeks to that [Barcelona] game and you will soon know if he’s out, but he is doubtful. At this important stage of the season, to lose bodies is disappointing for us.”
Arsenal, who are challenging on four fronts, have a heavy fixture schedule and face they next Everton in the Premier League today.
Draw for the fifth round of the FA Cup:
‧ West Ham United v Burnley
‧ Notts County or Manchester City v Aston Villa
‧ Stoke City v Brighton & Hove Albion
‧ Birmingham City v Sheffield Wednesday
‧ Leyton Orient v Arsenal
‧ Everton or Chelsea v Reading
‧ Manchester United v Crawley Town
‧ Fulham v Bolton Wanderers or Wigan Athletic
Matches to be played on Feb. 19 and Feb. 20.
ADVANTAGE ATLETICO: Well off the pace in La Liga, the Copa del Rey represents Atletico Madrid’s best chance of silverware this season Atletico Madrid on Thursday hammered Copa del Rey holders Barcelona 4-0 in the first leg of their semi-final. After an Eric Garcia own-goal sent Diego Simeone’s side ahead early on, Antoine Griezmann, Ademola Lookman and Julian Alvarez struck to give Atletico a landslide lead by halftime. Barca defender Garcia was sent off in the final stages, with Atletico maintaining their significant advantage on the record 32-time winners, which they take into the second leg at the Camp Nou on March 3. Both sides missed good chances in the second half, with Barca’s Pau Cubarsi having a goal disallowed before Garcia was sent off
Dasun Shanaka hammered the fastest half-century by a Sri Lankan in T20Is as the cohosts thrashed Oman by 105 runs at the World Cup yesterday in Pallekele, Sri Lanka, for their second win in Group B. The 2014 champions piled up 225-5, the highest total of the tournament, before restricting an outclassed Oman to 120-9. The 43-year-old Mohammad Nadeem waged a lone battle for Oman, compiling an unbeaten 53 to become the oldest player to score a 50 in T20 World Cups. Having promoted himself up the order and under pressure to deliver, Sri Lanka skipper Shanaka smashed a 19-ball half-century. It has been
Kawhi Leonard on Sunday scored 41 points, grabbed eight rebounds and made four steals to lead the Los Angeles Clippers in a lopsided 115-96 victory at Minnesota. The 34-year-old forward, a two-time NBA champion, matched the second-best road scoring effort of his career as the Clippers improved to 25-27. “Just being aggressive. My teammates trust me,” Leonard said. “Every moment when I touch the ball — assist, shooting the basketball or getting a rebound — I’m just trying to help the team win.” Leonard made three steals in a row at the start of the contest. “Just wanted to come out early in the
FLOP TO CONQUEROR: It was sweet vindication for Sam Darnold, who played for four NFL teams before his debut season in Seattle ended in the ultimate win The Seattle Seahawks on Sunday coasted to Super Bowl glory, routing the New England Patriots 29-13 as Sam Darnold sealed his journey from flop quarterback to conqueror of the NFL’s biggest prize. Brushing off a reputation for wilting in big games, journeyman quarterback Darnold threw for a touchdown and 200 yards on the grandest stage of all to give the Seahawks their second-ever Lombardi Trophy. “It’s unbelievable. Everything that has happened in my career, but to do it with this team, I wouldn’t want it any other way,” Darnold said. The victory was buoyed by a dominant defensive display and kicker Jason Myers’
RSS