FA Cup roundup: Chelsea dominant, Villa survives scare
In the League Cup, Chelsea will face second-division Middlesbrough over two legs in the semifinals, and is favoured to meet Liverpool or Fulham in the final.
Chelsea’s Armando Broja dribbles the ball past Preston’s Liam Lindsay during their match at Stamford Bridge
LONDON: Even while Chelsea is struggling in the English Premier League, its form in cup competitions could yet see it end the season with a trophy or two.
With a place in the League Cup semi-final already, Chelsea advanced to the fourth round of the FA Cup on Saturday after pasting Preston North End 4-0.
At 10th in the league, Chelsea looks likely to miss out on qualifying for the Champions League for a second year in a row. But manager Mauricio Pochettino is finding joy in the domestic cups, extended against second-division Preston after Armando Broja, Thiago Silva, Raheem Sterling and Enzo Fernandez scored in a second-half rout at Stamford Bridge.
In the League Cup, Chelsea will face second-division Middlesbrough over two legs in the semifinals, and is favoured to meet Liverpool or Fulham in the final.
But Pochettino will note how close Middlesbrough was to forcing a replay against Aston Villa before eventually losing 1-0 against the second-placed team in the Premier League.
Matty Cash scored an 87th-minute winner for Aston Villa at Riverside Stadium.
As well as being an unlikely league title contender, Villa has reached the knockout stage of the Europa Conference League.
“Which competition is the most important? We have to go into each match and get the best result,” Villa manager Unai Emery said. “The first target is to be consistent through the Premier League and then to try be consistent in the Conference League and the FA Cup.”
UPSET AVOIDED
Alexander Isak scored twice for Newcastle as they won the first northeast derby in eight years against Sunderland 3-0 in front of a fervent crowd at the Stadium of Light. Dan Ballard’s own goal gave Newcastle a first half lead.
Newcastle had won just one of its previous eight games and was eliminated from the Champions League and League Cup. The derby against second-division Sunderland was seen as a difficult encounter but Newcastle comfortably beat Sunderland for the first time in 13 years.
LEICESTER ADVANCES
Leicester, which won the cup in 2021, beat Millwall 3-2.
The 2016 Premier League champion is enjoying an impressive season after being relegated from the top-flight last year. Leicester has a 10-point lead atop division two, and victory against Millwall was its 24th in 30 games in all competitions.