Newport vs Manchester United LIVE: FA Cup result, final score and reaction as United narrowly avoid cup upset
Newport County 2-4 Manchester United: Erik ten Hag’s side avoid cup upset after second-half strikes from Antony and Rasmus Hojlund
Manchester United saw off a spirited Newport County comeback to book their place in the FA Cup fifth round with a 4-2 win at Rodney Parade.
Erik ten Hag’s side flew out of the traps with goals from Bruno Fernandes and Kobbie Mainoo after just 13 minutes but were pinned back late on in the first half after Bryn Morris’ superb long-range effort.
The League Two side then found an equaliser after the break after a tidy finish from the in-form Will Evans as the home side threatened a huge FA Cup upset on home soil. But Antony’s rebound before Hojlund’s injury-time strike ensured that United survived the scare and progressed to the fifth round.
Relive all the match action and post-match reaction below.
Man United avoid embarrassment but can’t escape ongoing problems after FA Cup win
In reality, the Amber Army had won before a ball had been kicked, but Newport County will remember the day they took on the might of Manchester United and almost pulled off the mother of all FA Cup shocks.
Two goals down inside 13 minutes, with a star-studded Premier League giant crushing everything that lay in their path en route to the fifth round, the team 76 places below their illustrious opponents faced the prospect of their big day turning into a mauling of epic proportions.
But battling against the odds is all in a day’s work in this part of South Wales. Having seen off dodgy owners long before they became in vogue in English football, forever teetering on the brink of financial ruin, storming back to 2-2 in front of a raucous home following was nothing.
A first goal in 31 appearances for £85m Antony and a late Rasmus Hojlund goal steered a shellshocked United into the fifth round, but it was the embattled hosts, put together at a cost of one of Antony’s studs, who were the real victors.
Full-time analysis by Pete Hall from Rodney Parade:
Man Utd avoid embarrassment but can’t escape problems after FA Cup win
Newport County 2-4 Man United: Late goals from Antony and Rasmus Hojlund saw the Red Devils avoid a replay
REPORT: Newport 2-4 Man United
In reality, the Amber Army had won before a ball had been kicked, but Newport County will remember the day they took on the might of Manchester United and almost pulled off the mother of all FA Cup shocks.
Two goals down inside 13 minutes, with a star-studded Premier League giant crushing everything that lay in their path en route to the fifth round, the team 76 places below their illustrious opponents faced the prospect of their big day turning into a mauling of epic proportions.
But battling against the odds is all in a day’s work in this part of South Wales. Having seen off dodgy owners long before they became in vogue in English football, forever teetering on the brink of financial ruin, storming back to 2-2 in front of a raucous home following was nothing.
A first goal in 31 appearances for £85m Antony and a late Rasmus Hojlund goal steered a shellshocked United into the fifth round, but it was the embattled hosts, put together at a cost of one of Antony’s studs, who were the real victors.
Pete Hall with the report:
Man Utd avoid embarrassment but can’t escape problems after FA Cup win
Newport County 2-4 Man United: Late goals from Antony and Rasmus Hojlund saw the Red Devils avoid a replay
Bruno Fernandes laments teammates’ decision-making as Manchester United survive FA Cup scare
Bruno Fernandes lamented his side’s decision-making in front of goal as Manchester United saw off a spirited Newport County to book their place in the FA Cup fifth round with a 4-2 away win.
United flew out of the traps at Rodney Parade, with goals from Fernandes and Kobbie Mainoo putting them 2-0 up inside the first 13 minutes.
Erik ten Hag’s side could well have put the game beyond doubt in the opening salvo but spurned a number of good chances through a combination of poor finishing and bad decision-making. Antony squandered several efforts, while Alejandro Garnacho hit the crossbar from a tight angle despite having both Fernandes and Rasmus Hojlund open for what would have been a simple tap-in.
Bruno Fernandes laments teammates’ decision-making as United avoid FA Cup scare
Manchester United’s wasteful first-half display almost came back to haunt them against League Two Newport County
Chelsea and Aston Villa set for FA Cup replay
Two Premier League teams who will face a replay to be in the fifth round are Chelsea and Aston Villa - here’s chief football writer Miguel Delaney and his assessment from the Stamford Bridge stalemate.
Chelsea and Aston Villa set for FA Cup replay after goalless stalemate
Chelsea 0-0 Aston Villa: Douglas Luiz’s disallowed goal was the closest the teams came to scoring
Everton out as Luton progress in FA Cup
Even an injury-time winner was not the most dramatic event in Merseyside football in the last couple of days but there is a shared sense of gloom. While Liverpool mourn Jurgen Klopp’s planned departure, Everton’s disappointment stems from different reasons. As they were ejected from the FA Cup, Luton Town’s supporters chorused about going to Wembley; after last season’s play-off final, they have fond memories of the national stadium.
Yet if Everton claimed they merited a free kick when the Hatters took the lead and could point out that Cauley Woodrow’s decider came 14 seconds into the 96th minute – only five had been signalled – neither grievance had much weight. Luton had more cohesion and chances, more dynamism and drive. Perhaps they had more in reserve, too, with two substitutes, Luke Berry and Woodrow, playing pivotal parts in the decider.
If Sean Dyche’s sides tend to be set-piece specialists, they were beaten at their own game. Both Luton goals came from corners, just as they had prospered from dead-ball situations when achieving their maiden Premier League win at Goodison in September.
Sean Dyche shows his old weakness as Everton beaten at their own game
Everton 1-2 Luton: An injury-time winner from the Hatters condemned the Toffees to a fourth-round exit in the FA Cup
Man City break the Spurs curse late on
Finally, the curse was lifted. Manchester City are a magnificent team, the rightful champions of Europe and the world, but on this rectangular patch of ground in north London they have been a mixture of unfortunate, underwhelming and comically inept. Before tonight they had played five games at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and lost them all, never even scoring a goal despite accumulating an xG of about 375. For 88 minutes here history rhymed, until Nathan Ake’s bundled late winner, a game won in the most un-Cityish of ways.
Pep Guardiola had been getting increasingly irate, so much so that he was booked for sarcastically applauding referee Paul Tierney during the second half of this FA Cup tie. He would have recognised some similar traits of games that had gone before here, in which City created chance after chance but could not alter the scoreboard. An early goal was chalked off by the barest of margins; Julian Alvarez, Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku all missed prime chances.
But where Guardiola had come against stubborn defensive units in the past, deliberately designed to annoy him by Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo and Antonio Conte, this Ange Postecoglou team was never going to play that way. Tottenham tried to play their way, but they never managed to gain control and ultimately their open gameplan failed, albeit at the very last, at a corner, when so much hard work had been done. City won 1-0 and the defending champions will be in the hat for the fifth round.
Lawrence Ostlere from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium:
Manchester City finally lift the curse to knock Tottenham out the FA Cup
Tottenham Hotspur 0-1 Manchester City: Nathan Ake’s late bundled winner sealed this fourth-round win with City’s first goal in Spurs’ new stadium
Maidstone United pull off stunning Cup win at Ipswich
At Portman Road, Maidstone United pulled off one of the greatest FA Cup upsets of recent times as goals from Lamar Reynolds and Sam Corne sealed a 2-1 win over Championship promotion chasers Ipswich Town.
Maidstone pull off historic FA Cup shock and Brighton win thriller
National League South side Maidstone stunned Championship high-flyers Ipswich to reach the FA Cup fifth round
Erik ten Hag reveals Manchester United transfer plans after encountering FFP problems
Erik ten Hag says financial fair play restrictions will prevent Manchester United from acting in the January transfer window to fill the “gap” in attack left by Anthony Martial’s extended absence.
This has been a quiet month across the board and the Red Devils have focused on streamlining the squad rather than bolstering it.
Jadon Sancho, Donny van de Beek and Hannibal Mejbri are among those to have left on loan, with United always expected to do little to nothing in terms of signings.
And not even the fact that Martial has been ruled out until April after undergoing surgery on a groin injury is likely to change things due to Premier League profit and sustainability rules.
Ten Hag reveals Man Utd transfer plans after encountering FFP problems
The United boss will not be able to add back-up for Rasmus Hojlund despite Anthony Martial’s surgery
Academy products star in FA Cup to show Liverpool are ready for life after Jurgen Klopp
While Jurgen Klopp’s long goodbye has begun, the possibility is growing that the final farewell will come at Wembley. In dispatching Norwich City, in setting up a fifth-round meeting with Watford or Southampton at Anfield, Liverpool opened a path to a second domestic Cup double in three seasons. The FA Cup will not define Klopp’s reign, but it may bring it to a glorious end on 25 May.
Predictably, there were points when “I’m so glad Jurgen is a Red” echoed around Anfield. Klopp has asked fans not to sing the song devoted to him during games; in the next four months, he may have to get used to them ignoring his wishes.
And yet this was more than a mere sentimental occasion: the decibel level probably peaked as he was serenaded after the final whistle but until then, the loudest cheer may have been reserved for the sight of the returning Andy Robertson, who made his first appearance since October. It added to the sense Liverpool are gaining in strength as well as momentum. Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dominik Szoboszlai made their comebacks after shorter lay-offs. Klopp hopes it will be business as usual, despite his bombshell, and Liverpool showed few signs of being distracted.
One of the German’s feats has been to turn Anfield into a fortress. They extended this season’s record to 15 wins and two draws in 17 matches on home soil, bringing up a half-century of goals. Norwich struck twice, one of them spectacular, but there was little prospect of an upset. David Wagner was Klopp’s best man but his side were unsurprisingly second best.
Read Richard Jolly’s report as Liverpool eased past Norwich into the fifth round:
Academy products star to show Liverpool are ready for life after Jurgen Klopp
Liverpool 5-2 Norwich City: Curtis Jones scored and Conor Bradley assisted twice as the Reds won in the fourth round
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