The clubs are meeting in the FA Cup’s tie of the round after sobering defeats last weekThe fast-moving world of football has managed to overtake what promised to be an FA Cup treat at Stamford Bridge on Monday night. When the draw was made, Chelsea’s pairing with Manchester United was the obvious fifth-round highlight, but that was before both clubs suffered chastening setbacks.Chelsea suffered their heaviest defeat of the Premier League era at the hands of Manchester City last Sunday, a 6-0 thrashing that left Maurizio Sarri in a state of shock. It is highly unlikely that Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s United will be quite so ruthless and relentless, though with a Carabao Cup final against City due at the end...
Max Rushden, Barry Glendenning, Sam Diss and Lars Sivertsen discuss FA Cup giantkillings, Spurs limping out of a second cup competition in a week, VAR and the absence of VAR – Schrödinger’s VAR and Notts CountyJoin the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email.We look back at the weekend of football just gone, starting with Millwall and AFC Wimbledon booting out Premier League opposition in front of rapturous support. Continue reading...
Ole Gunnar Solskjær is proving his tactical ability every week but Accrington’s manager could not see the magic of his Cup tieIt was a pity John Coleman saw fit to savage Jon Moss, stealing the headlines when his players’ tremendous performance against Derby deserved more attention. The referee did not get everything right but the Accrington manager was wrong to describe his decisions as horrendous, particularly as his supposedly worst call only led to the corner that resulted in the goal. Frank Lampard was on safer ground talking of the magic of the FA Cup. “We had 2,500 fans here and I thought it was great, it felt like a proper game,” the Derby manager said. “I’ve played in Cup...
Playing Romelu Lukaku on the right wing meant Ole Gunnar Solskjær created the space to get the most out of Alexis Sánchez in the win over ArsenalEasy game, this management lark. So easy, you wonder what on earth Ole Gunnar Solskjær was doing during his first stint in the Premier League: it didn’t seem this straightforward with Cardiff City. These days, though, it seems he can do no wrong. Not only did he allow Alexis Sánchez to invoke the immutable law of the ex by scoring against Arsenal but, far less expectedly, he deployed Romelu Lukaku to dismantle Arsenal from a position on the right wing. Related: Arsenal fear Laurent Koscielny has broken jaw in Manchester United defeat Related: Alexis...
The forward, back at the Emirates, scores only his second goal for United since last March as he enjoys the rare treat of playing against the Arsenal defenceJust past the half hour on a chilly night Alexis Sánchez did something he managed far too seldom in the dog days of the late-Wenger era. He got the Emirates crowd on its feet: fists clenched, leaping about the seats with something close to delirium. Albeit, on this occasion Sánchez had just scored a goal against Arsenal, choosing to celebrate extensively with his grey-shirted Manchester United teammates in front of the home fans behind the goal.You can hardly blame him. For one thing it was just his second goal for United since March...