Manchester United are through to the fourth round of the FA Cup after a 1-0 home win against ten-man Liverpool, while Tottenham and Chelsea easily progrssed against lower league sides.
Liverpool’s trip to Old Trafford marked the return of manager Kenny Dalglish as a replacement for the departed Roy Hodgson in the away dugout, but the Scot’s second tenure at the club got off to the worst possible start when his side conceded a penalty with less than a minute played. Daniel Agger’s foul on Dimitar Berbatov earned Ryan Giggs the opportunity to put the hosts ahead.
Liverpool’s task became even harder when Steven Gerrard was shown a straight red card for a foul on Michael Carrick after 32 minutes. Despite their one-man advantage, United were unable to extend their lead, but were also never seriously troubled by a Liverpool side that showed a lot more heart and desire than we have seen in recent weeks.
It was not all good news on Manchester as Man City were held to a 2-2 draw with Championship side Leicester City. Leicester got off to a great start when Sol Bamba gave them the lead within the first minute. City answered with goals by James Milner and Carlos Tévez and appeared to have the game in hand until a an error by City goalkeeper Joe Hart gifted Leicester a goal. Hart spilled a routine cross by Paul Gallagher on 64 minutes, allowing Andy King to convert the rebound and send both teams back to Eastlands for the replay.
Elsewhere Spurs moved into the fourth round with a comfortable win against Charlton. Charlton held out until the 49th minute until Andros Townsend scored on his debut for Spurs. Two further goals from Jermain Defoe within two minutes ended Charlton’s cup dreams.
Chelsea finally got the type of performance that their fans have been calling for as they thrashed Ipswich 7-0. Daniel Sturridge and Frank Lampard each scored twice for Chelsea, while ended his two month goal drought.
