Striker Jose Antonio Reyes scored twice as Arsenal ended Chelsea's FA Cup hopes for the fourth successive year with a 2-1 victory in a feisty fifth-round tie on Sunday.
First division Sheffield United joined the premier league leaders in the quarterfinals following a 1-0 win over Colchester, but Liverpool were held to a 1-1 draw by premier league strugglers Portsmouth.
Adrian Mutu put Chelsea ahead before halftime but Spaniard Reyes smashed in a spectacular equalizer, his first goal for the club, and grabbed the winner five minutes later to keep his side on course to win the Cup for the third year in a row.
PHOTO: AFP
"They gave us problems in the first half. In the second half, we pushed up more," Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger told reporters. "Our team play was good, our passing was good and we were mentally strong. The players wanted to win."
Romanian striker Mutu gave Chelsea a deserved lead after 40 minutes, taking advantage of a poor clearance by Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann to drill in a crisp left-foot shot from the edge of the penalty area.
Chelsea would have led 2-0 at the interval if winger Jesper Gronkjaer's header had not been controversially ruled out for off-side.
The second half started quietly but the match was ignited after 56 minutes by the 20-year-old Reyes, starting in the absence of Arsenal's injured leading scorer Thierry Henry.
Collecting the ball from a clearance just outside the Chelsea penalty area, he jinked inside before unleashing a stunning left-foot shot from 20m that flew into the top corner of the net.
Shortly afterwards, the player signed last month for around ?17 million (US$32.26 million) from Sevilla put Arsenal ahead.
Midfielder Patrick Vieira released him with a neat pass and Reyes produced a deft finish to beat Chelsea goalkeeper Neil Sullivan, who had just come on as substitute for the injured Carlo Cudicini.
"There's a lot to work on but you can see there's talent there," Wenger said of Reyes.
"His work rate was absolutely outstanding today. The number of runs he made was fantastic," he said.
The shell-shocked visitors never really threatened to get back into the game as Vieira and Sol Campbell led a typically disciplined Arsenal defensive effort, and Chelsea striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink became the seventh player booked as his team's hopes faded.
Liverpool, lying fourth in the top flight, controlled their match at Anfield against 17th-placed Portsmouth from the second minute when England striker Michael Owen scored with a clinical finish from 8m.
But the hosts failed to capitalize on a number of good chances, Portsmouth goalkeeper Shaka Hislop making two excellent saves and substitute Matthew Taylor equalizing 13 minutes from time with a crisp strike from 10m.
Paul Peschisolido headed the 61st-minute winner for Sheffield United, last season's semifinalists, who proved too strong for second division Colchester.
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