Premier League title challengers Chelsea and Manchester City both crashed out of the FA Cup after being sensationally beaten by lower-league opponents in the fourth round on Saturday.
A weakened Chelsea team threw away a 2-0 lead to lose 4-2 at home to third-tier Bradford City in one of the biggest upsets in the competition’s recent history, while City lost 2-0 to Championship high-fliers Middlesbrough at the Etihad Stadium.
With Southampton beaten 3-2 by Crystal Palace, it means that none of the Premier League’s top three teams will feature in today’s fifth-round draw, blowing the competition wide open.
Photo: Reuters
Manchester United, who are fourth in the Premier League, face a replay against fourth-division Cambridge United after a 0-0 away draw on Friday, while Bolton Wanderers earned a replay with Liverpool.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho had said prior to kick-off at Stamford Bridge that it would be a “disgrace” if his side were beaten by Bradford and he declared himself “ashamed” at the final whistle.
Bradford’s win carried echoes of famous FA Cup upsets by Hereford United, Sutton United and Wrexham, and came two years after the League One club’s run to the League Cup final in 2013.
Photo: AFP
“The day we got to the League Cup final, that result at Villa Park, was a very special one,” Bradford manager Gary Parkinson said. “But today, in terms of the performance, that has to be the best. To come to the Premier League leaders and score four goals will take some beating.”
Chelsea made nine changes to the team that had drawn 1-1 with Liverpool in the League Cup semi-final first leg on Tuesday last week and took a 21st-minute lead when Gary Cahill flicked in Oscar’s corner.
Ramires made it 2-0 in the 38th minute after a one-two with Mohamed Salah, but Jon Stead replied for Bradford three minutes later, then former Chelsea youth player Filipe Morais equalized 15 minutes from time.
A money-spinning replay beckoned for Bradford, who are currently seventh in the third tier — 51 places below Chelsea — but they went ahead in the 82nd minute when Andy Halliday found the top corner from 18 yards.
Mourinho introduced Willian, Cesc Fabregas and Eden Hazard from the bench, but it was Bradford who had the final say as substitute Mark Yeates calmly slotted home to claim his own piece of FA Cup folklore.
“I repeat a word I used before this match — it’s a disgrace for a big team to lose to a small team from a lower league,” Mourinho said. “We must feel ashamed. Me and the players must feel ashamed.”
City manager Manuel Pellegrini had to field questions about his side’s mid-week trip to Abu Dhabi for a warm-weather training camp after the reigning Premier League champions were eliminated by Middlesbrough.
Currently second in the Championship, Middlesbrough weathered heavy pressure in the first half, before capitalizing on some farcical defending to take a 53rd-minute lead through on-loan Chelsea striker Patrick Bamford.
Fernando’s back-pass sold Willy Caballero short and after the City goalkeeper collided with Albert Adomah, Fernando slid in to clear, only to play the ball against Bamford, whose touch took the ball in.
After Lee Tomlin had hit the post for Middlesbrough and Frank Lampard had replied in kind, substitute Kike secured victory for the visitors in stoppage-time by finishing off a counterattack led by Bamford.
“I can’t find words to explain my feelings today,” Middlesbrough coach Aitor Karanka said. “But I’m proud of the players, the crowd, the fans, the staff and the club.”
Asked if the Abu Dhabi trip had affected the result, Pellegrini told the BBC: “It’s easy to have an excuse, but I don’t think that was the case.”
Liverpool avoided the fate that befell Chelsea and City, but they were taken to a replay by Championship club Bolton following a 0-0 draw at Anfield.
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers, who rested captain Steven Gerrard, saw his side dominate, but they could not find a way past Bolton goalkeeper Adam Bogdan.
In other results, it was:
‧ Birmingham 1, West Brom 2
‧ Blackburn 3, Swansea 1
‧ Cardiff 1, Reading 2
‧ Derby 2, Chesterfield 0
‧ Preston 1, Sheffield United 1
‧ Sunderland 0, Fulham 0
‧ Tottenham 1, Leicester 2
Taiwan’s men’s table tennis team won bronze on Saturday at this year’s International Table Tennis Federation World Team Table Tennis Championships in London, matching the country’s best-ever finish at the regular tournament. Consisting of Lin Yun-ju, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7, Feng Yi-hsin, Kuo Guan-hong, Hong Jing-kai and Hsu Hsien-chia, the team won bronze after losing 0-3 to Japan in the semifinals. In the opening match, 24-year-old Lin played the first game against world No. 3 Tomokazu Harimoto 11-5, but ultimately lost the next three closely contested games 9-11, 10-12 and 10-12. Feng then faced world No. 8 Sora Matsushima in
Lin Yun-ju on Thursday handed Taiwan two key victories as they advanced to the semi-finals of the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals in London. The Taiwan men’s table tennis team beat Sweden 3-2 in five singles matches. The 24-year-old Lin, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7 and nicknamed the “Silent Assassin,” opened the tie by defeating world No. 2 Truls Moregard 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 13-11) before clinching the deciding fifth match with a 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-5) win over Anton Kallberg to hand his team the overall victory. Kuo Guan-hong put Taiwan up 2-0 with a 3-2 (4-11, 11-8, 8-11,
Taiwanese fire dancer Yang Li-wei advanced to the final of Britain’s Got Talent this weekend after receiving a Golden Buzzer during her live semi-final performance. Yang, a member of Taiwan’s Coming True Fire Group, awed judges and audiences with a high-intensity fire performance featuring flaming umbrellas, fire swallowing and spinning metal structures balanced with her legs. Judge Simon Cowell praised Yang as a star, while guest judge KSI reacted with amazement before pressing the Golden Buzzer, sending her to the finals. The dance group wrote on social media that the Golden Buzzer was “the highest honor” on the talent show, adding: “Twenty-three years
As Super Rugby fast approaches its playoff season it finds itself racing toward a reckoning with many issues that threaten the southern hemisphere tournament. A group of stakeholders met in the New Zealand city of Christchurch late last month to address problems that are making the future of the 31-year-old competition increasingly tenuous. The discussion was made more urgent by the decision by the owners of Moana Pasifika to fold the Auckland-based club for financial reasons. That followed the closure of the Melbourne Rebels at the end of the 2024 season, likewise because of financial difficulties. Problems addressed included player retention as more
RSS