Trent Alexander-Arnold’s stunning strike lit up Liverpool’s 4-0 win over Accrington Stanley to cruise into the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday as Chelsea thrashed Morecambe 5-0.
Brentford were the only Premier League side to fall to lower league opposition as Plymouth, who sit bottom of the Championship, stunned the Bees 1-0 thanks to Morgan Whittaker’s late winner.
There was never any hint of an upset at Anfield despite Arne Slot making eight changes for Liverpool.
Alexander-Arnold was named captain in the absence of Virgil van Dijk and led by example after being criticised for his display in a 2-2 draw against Manchester United last weekend.
Slot had warned the Premier League leaders that a trip to Anfield would be Accrington’s “Champions League final.”
A mammoth 86 league positions behind Liverpool in the 92-team English league system, Stanley held out for nearly half an hour.
Diogo Jota was left with a simple task to tap in from Darwin Nunez’s low cross to open the floodgates.
Alexander-Arnold stepped forward to double the lead with a sumptuous hit into the top corner from outside the box.
Jayden Danns made the most of just his second appearance of the season to fire in the third 14 minutes from time.
Federico Chiesa’s Liverpool career has so far failed to get going due to injury problems.
But the Italian took advantage of some rare game time to net his first goal for the club with a long-range strike off the far post.
“It is definitely a good first step, but as much as I liked the way Accrington Stanley played, we have to take into consideration that we’re talking about League Two level,” said Slot on Chiesa’s second-half cameo off the bench.
“It is good to have him back on the pitch. He was a threat, but let’s not get carried away.”
Joao Felix was the star of the show for Chelsea as he got a rare chance to deputise for Cole Palmer.
The Portuguese international and Tosin Adarabioyo both scored twice, while Christopher Nkunku made up for missing an early penalty by netting his 13th goal of the season.
Only Liverpool have taken more points at home than Brentford in the Premier League this season, while Plymouth had not won away from home all campaign.
Yet against the odds, Argyle, who sacked former England captain Wayne Rooney 12 days ago, held out and hit Thomas Frank’s men with a sucker punch when Whittaker blasted in from outside the area nine minutes from time.
High-flying Nottingham Forest continued their excellent season with a comfortable 2-0 win over Luton.
Brighton were 4-0 winners at Norwich as Georginio Rutter struck twice.
Bournemouth shrugged off the loss of strikers Evanilson and Enes Unal to long-term injuries this week to roar back from 1-0 down to hammer West Brom 5-1.
Leicester went one better by hitting QPR for six in a 6-2 thriller at the King Power.
– Man City face former Utd greats –
Manchester City face fourth-tier opposition later against Salford City, who are owned by a group of former Manchester United greats.
Investments from David Beckham, Gary and Phil Neville, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Nicky Butt have helped Salford rise through the non-league ranks since their involvement began in 2014.
Another celebrity co-owner in the lower leagues of English football is already into round four as NFL legend Tom Brady’s Birmingham beat Lincoln 2-1.
Wolves’ bright start under new boss Vitor Pereira continued as early goals from Rayan Aït-Nouri and Rodrigo Gomes secured a 2-1 win at Bristol City.
AFP
