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After an exciting 3rd round of the FA Cup, the magic of the competition was still very much in the air going into the 4th round this weekend. And with the likes of Manchester United and Liverpool travelling away to League 1 clubs, there were plenty of potential shocks on the cards.
Moreover, Manchester United were going into the game off the back of a shock defeat to Burnley at Old Trafford, leaving them vulnerable ahead of a game they were clear favourites in.
Elsewhere, Leicester faced a tough test away to Brentford, a clash we could see again next season with Brentford currently sitting 5th and in the playoff places of the Championship. This clash was one of 5 games between Premier League and Championship clubs. Although, by contrast, only 4 Premier League clubs faced off in the 4th round of the FA Cup with Manchester City coming up against Fulham, and Spurs facing Southampton. With that being said, here are 3 talking points from the 4th round of the FA Cup.
Shrewsbury shock Liverpool with comeback
With Shrewsbury Town FC sitting 16th in League 1 and Liverpool sitting top of the Premier League, 16 points clear and unbeaten, many expected a clear victory for Jürgen Klopp's men. However, this was a game that Shrewsbury would not just simply roll over and accept defeat in and in the end, they gave Liverpool one of their toughest tests so far this season. It was the favourites who took the lead, the goal coming from the previous rounds' hero, Curtis Jones, who latched onto Pedro Chirivella's through ball to slot home the opening goal to give Liverpool the perfect start.
The game then fell into the pattern of attack vs defence with the League 1 side looking to play on the counter-attack. And, in fairness to Shrewsbury, the tactic worked as they went onto create a couple of clear cut chances that more than tested Adrian in the Liverpool goal. But, as half-time approached, it was clear that the Premier League leaders were still fully in control of the tie, a control that would increase at the start of the second half.
The second goal of the game came just seconds after the second half started and Shrewsbury only had themselves to blame when Donald Love passed the ball into the back of his own net to put the away side 2-0 up on the night, a scoreline that would be difficult to come back from. But League 1 side didn't give up and as the game approached its end, they turned the tie on its head with a combination of poor defending and Jason Cummings heroics enroute to a great comeback. The first goal came from the spot after a Yasser Larouci foul gifted Shrewsbury the chance to get back in the game. Jason Cummings stepped up and sent Adrian the wrong way to half the deficit to 2-1.
The goal woke the home fans up who were now fully behind their team and this pushed their side towards the equaliser. The goal came on the 75-minute mark when a loose ball fell to Jason Cummings who made no mistake with the finish to level the proceedings. And the game ended at 2-2 and now Shrewsbury must await a trip to Anfield for the replay where they will look to pull off yet another shocking result.
Manchester United score 6 past Tranmere Rovers
Before this tie, Manchester United hadn't scored six goals in one game since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson. However, with a trip to Tranmere on the horizon, United were favourites to win and win resoundingly, which they did. The first goal came within the first 10 minutes with a deflected Harry Maguire strike finding the back of the net and after that, the floodgates began to open. The second and third goals of the game came within 6 minutes of the opener with a first ever United goal for Diego Dalot and Jessie Lingard's first goal this season giving the away side a comfortable lead. Manchester United were in a ruthless mood and went onto score two more goals before the half-time whistle. The goals came from a Phil Jones header and an Anthony Martial long-range effort.
Although, compared to the first half, the second half was far less brutal for Tranmere Rovers as United went onto score just once more from the penalty spot by Mason Greenwood, who calmly converted from the spot to complete the thrashing and put United through to the 5th round of the FA Cup.
Bilic's West Brom knock West Ham out
With the Hammers sitting as low as 16th in the Premier League, a confidence boost was evidently needed. And many believed that this would come against West Brom and their old boss, Slaven Bilic. Although contrary to many people's prediction, West Brom dealt West Ham a confidence blow instead of the boost the players clearly needed by knocking them out of the FA Cup. The only goal of the game came from Conor Townsend whose long range, left-footed strike found the back of the net to give the Championship table-toppers the lead. The title hopefuls then highlighted their defensive resolve to keep West Ham at arm's length and keep the lead, a resolve that was especially needed when Semi Ajayi saw red in the 72nd minute. However, despite going down to 10 men, West Brom held on to keep their FA Cup hopes alive and deal West Ham yet another hammer blow.
To conclude, round 4 of the FA Cup was the best round yet with Shrewsbury earning a replay Anfield and West Brom defeating West Ham, both among several talking points from an action-packed weekend
Also see: Jürgen Klopp confirms no senior players will feature for Liverpool in FA Cup replay against Shrewbury Town
