London (dpa/reuters) – FA Cup holders Arsenal prevailed against Newcastle 2-0 in extra-time on Saturday to continue their defence into the fourth round. Meanwhile, Scott McTominay’s fifth minute header was enough for Manchester United to dismiss Watford at Old Trafford in a 1-0 victory.
Scott McTominay celebrated captaining Manchester United for the first time by scoring the only goal.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made nine changes to his team, who could go top of the Premier League on Tuesday, when they take on Burnley. The home side started strongly at an empty Old Trafford, with Daniel James impressive on the left side of the attack, and were rewarded when McTominay gave them the lead in the fifth minute.
Premier League Leeds United suffered the biggest upset of the FA Cup third round when they fell to a 3-0 defeat by fourth-tier Crawley Town on Sunday as Manchester City and Chelsea eased through.
Frank Lampard’s Chelsea were also up against League Two opposition but avoided any embarrassment with a comfortable 4-0 victory over Morecambe.
Mason Mount gave Chelsea an early lead at Stamford Bridge with a sweetly struck shot from outside the box and German striker Timo Werner scored his first goal in two months with a simple tap-in before the break. Callum Hudson-Odoi and Kai Havertz also got their names on the scoresheet as Chelsea secured their first win in four games in all competitions.
Championship club Barnsley beat League Two Tranmere Rovers 2-0 while Bristol City, also of the Championship, needed an 83rd-minute goal from Chris Martin to beat League One (third tier) Portsmouth 2-1.
Semi-professional side Chorley produced the first upset of the FA Cup third round on Saturday with a 2-0 home win over Championship team Derby County.
Liverpool beat virus-plagued Aston Villa 4-1 in the FA Cup third round on Friday, with their opponents missing the entire first-team squad and boss Dean Smith due to a Covid outbreak.
Southampton‘s third round tie against Shrewsbury on Sunday has been postponed after several positive tests at the League One team.
A record-high 40 positive tests were detected among top-flight players and staff in the week between December 28 and January 3 and four Premier League games have already been postponed this term.
The English Football League, which oversees the three divisions below the Premier League, reported 112 positive tests on Friday.
