FA Cup 5th Round: Brighton Kicks Out Chelsea As Man City Triumph To Next Round

Chelsea has been eliminated from the FA Cup trophy race following Saturday’s match against Brighton.

Kaoru Mitoma helped the host to secure a 2-1 victory in the fourth round, while Kevin De Bruyne rescued Manchester City with a 2-1 win against third-tier Leyton Orient on Saturday.

Naija News reports that Chelsea’s pursuit of a domestic trophy continues, as they have not won since claiming the FA Cup in 2018, and their hopes were dashed once again after they squandered an early lead at the Amex Stadium.

Enzo Maresca’s team took the lead in the fifth minute when Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen inadvertently directed Cole Palmer’s cross into his net, a significant error that Chelsea failed to capitalize on.

Brighton suffered a heavy 7-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest in the Premier League the previous weekend. However, the club made a remarkable recovery from one of the worst losses in its 123-year history.

They equalized in the 12th minute when Joel Veltman’s cross found Georginio Rutter, who skillfully manoeuvred between Chelsea defenders Trevoh Chalobah and Tosin Adarabioyo to head the ball into the far corner.

Brighton completed their comeback in the 57th minute when Mitoma executed a delicate finish past Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez despite the visitors’ protests for a handball.

At Brisbane Road, Manchester City faced an early setback when Jamie Donley’s long-range shot struck the crossbar and deflected off City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega, giving Leyton Orient an unexpected lead.

The English champions equalized after 56 minutes when Uzbekistan defender Abdukodir Khusanov inadvertently redirected Rico Lewis’s shot into the net, marking Khusanov’s first goal since joining City from Lens during the January transfer window.

City manager Pep Guardiola needed to rely more on his substitutes than he preferred just four days before the crucial first leg of the Champions League play-off round against Real Madrid.

However, the arrival of De Bruyne proved pivotal, as the Belgian midfielder netted a goal 11 minutes before the final whistle.

“It was a typical FA Cup game, that is why this competition is unbelievable. For the fans, how the crowd support and we knew they are strong,” Guardiola said.

Victory came at a cost for City, though, as new midfielder Nico Gonzalez hobbled off just 22 minutes into his debut after a £50 million ($62 million) move from Porto.

Meanwhile, Newcastle staged a comeback to secure a 3-2 victory over Birmingham at St Andrew’s.

Birmingham took an early lead just 42 seconds into the match with a deflected shot from Ethan Laird.

However, Newcastle quickly turned the match around with two rapid goals from Joe Willock and Callum Wilson. Tomoki Iwata then equalized for the League One leaders with a powerful strike just before half-time.

Despite this, Newcastle capped off a successful week, having reached the League Cup final on Wednesday, as Willock netted the decisive goal in the 82nd minute to restore their advantage.

Southampton, currently at the bottom of the Premier League and facing relegation, found no relief in the FA Cup, suffering a 1-0 defeat to Burnley at St Mary’s.

Scott Parker’s side took the lead in the 77th minute when Marcus Edwards scored from close range on his debut after joining on loan from Sporting Lisbon.

Burnley has not conceded a goal in nearly 600 minutes, achieving 10 clean sheets in their last 11 matches.

In another FA Cup match at Goodison Park, Everton, who are set to move to a new stadium next season, lost 2-0 to Bournemouth, with goals from Antoine Semenyo and Dan Jebbison.

Rodrigo Muniz scored twice as Fulham triumphed 2-1 over League One side Wigan.

Ipswich, currently second from the bottom in the Premier League, achieved a convincing 4-1 victory against Frank Lampard’s Coventry.

George Hirst’s penalty in the second minute was quickly equalized by Joel Latibeaudiere in the eighth minute for the hosts.

Nevertheless, Jack Clarke regained the lead for Ipswich in the 28th minute and added another goal in the 37th minute, while Jaden Philogene’s effort in the 63rd minute completed the rout.

Millwall advanced to the fifth round of the FA Cup for the first time since the 2018-19 season, thanks to Femi Azeez’s two goals in a 2-0 victory over Championship leaders Leeds.