In recent years it's been debated that the FA Cup may have lost its magic. The bigger clubs now tend to play weakened teams to concentrate on the league and with the gap in finances only getting bigger from top to bottom, upsets are now few and far between. However, the weekend's quarter final matches have proved that the FA Cup is still valued highly among everyone involved with English football.
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 - 3 Coventry City
Premier League Wolves went into this match with their Midlands rivals as favourites, however it was Coventry who struck first when Ellis Simms scored early on in the second half. Wolves would then strike back with late goals from Rayan Ait-Nouri and Hugo Bueno and looked to be headed for Wembley until Simms scored again in the 97th minute. With the match at Molineux looking destined for extra time, Coventry's Haji Wright found the net from an attack out of nowhere, causing scenes of pandemonium in the away end and sending the Sky Blues to their first FA Cup semi final in 34 years.
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Manchester City 2 - 0 Newcastle United
In perhaps the least nail-biting match of the weekend, Man City never really had to get out of second gear against Newcastle. That being said, The Magpies were very unlucky to concede the two goals, as both were wicked deflections from two Bernardo Silva shots. Pep Guardiola's side will now head to Wembley for the sixth year in a row in the competition.
Chelsea 4 - 2 Leicester City
In the second Premier League versus Championship match of the weekend, it was Chelsea who took the early initiative, when Marc Cucurella opened the scoring. Shortly after, The Blues had a chance to double their lead when they were awarded a penalty, however Raheem Sterling wasn't able to convert after taking the ball off regular taker, Cole Palmer. It was in fact Palmer who netted Chelsea's second, continuing his scintillating form in front of goal this season. Chelsea had looked comfortable for the whole first half but opened the door for Leicester early on in the second, courtesy of a bizarre own goal from centre back, Axel Disasi. The Foxes clearly took confidence from this gift, as ten minutes later Stephy Mavididi equalised, setting it up for an exciting last half hour. However, things were about to get even more difficult for the Championship side, as defender, Callum Doyle was sent off following a VAR review for taking down Nicolas Jackson when he was through on goal. Leicester defended admirably, but in the end Chelsea's quality shone through as Carney Chukwuemeka put the London side 3-2 up in the last minute. To add insult to injury, a long range strike for Noni Madueke sealed the deal for The Blues just minutes later.
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Manchester United 4 - 3 Liverpool (AET)
After an amazing weekend of FA Cup drama, what a way to round it off between the two historical most dominant teams in the country. In a jam-packed Old Trafford, it was Scott McTominay who gave the home side lead early on. However, it was then Liverpool who struck back with Alexis Mac Allister and Mo Salah scoring two goals in quick succession just before the half time whistle. In an end-to-end affair it looked as if Liverpool would be the ones to go through, but in the dying minutes, United substitute Antony ensured the match would go to extra time from a right footed effort. Liverpool's Harvey Elliot drew the first blood following a deflected long range effort. Marcus Rashford then netted for The Red Devils to send it back to honours even. With penalties looming, one would think that both teams would take their foot off the gas but neither did. Following a Liverpool corner, Amad Diallo managed to win back possession for United and quickly helped his team score on the subsequent counter attack after his shot went in off the post at the Stretford End. He then got sent off for taking his shirt off during his celebration, adding to the madness of a fixture that will be remembered for a very long time.
So there you have it, do not fear, there is still some magic in the FA Cup and following the scenes in the stands after Coventry and Man United's late equalisers it still means a hell of a lot to supporters.
In the next round, Coventry will play United and Man City will play Chelsea, so there's still room for bit more FA Cup drama yet!
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