Tottenham strolls past Fulham; Ibrahimovic fires United into quarterfinals
LONDON (Reuters) – Harry Kane’s hat-trick turned Tottenham Hotspur’s potentially tricky FA Cup fifth-round tie at Championship side Fulham into a Sunday stroll by the River Thames as it sauntered to a 3-0 victory at Craven Cottage.
England striker Kane struck early on and twice after the interval to take his tally for the season to 19 as the eighttimes FA Cup winners eased into the quarterfinals.
It was Kane’s second hat-trick in his last seven games and he has now bagged 20 goals in his last 22 London derbies.
Stung by consecutive defeats against Liverpool in the Premier League and Gent in the Europa League and wary of becoming another weekend Cup shock, Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino fielded a strong line-up and was rewarded.
With central defender Jan Vertonghen back from an ankle injury after missing five games and Kane having shaken off a knock sustained in the 1-0 defeat in Belgium on Thursday, Tottenham pinned Fulham back into its own area.
Spurs took the lead in the 16th minute with a move of simplicity. Right back Kieran Trippier, in for the rested Kyle Walker, released Christian Eriksen with a long throw and the Dane crossed low for Kane to volley home at full stretch.
He doubled Tottenham’s lead in the 51st minute, again glancing in from a pinpoint Eriksen assist, and finished off Fulham in the 73rd minute when he ran unopposed on to Dele Alli’s clever pass and tucked a right-foot shot low past Fulham goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli.
Fulham, still with an outside chance of making the Championship playoffs, had its moments.
Floyd Ayite come agonizingly close to getting a touch to Scott Malone’s low cross just before halftime while substitute Scott Parker, a former Tottenham player, headed straight at Michel Vorm late on as Fulham sought some consolation.
Pochettino is yet to win any silverware with Tottenham and clearly is eyeing the FA Cup as well as the Europa League.
Meanwhile, Manchester United’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic came off the bench to score the winner as it recovered from an early deficit to beat Championship strugglers Blackburn Rovers 2-1 away in the FA Cup fifth round on Sunday.
The Swedish hitman entered the fray just part the hour mark at a murky Ewood Park and produced a typically silky finish in the 75th minute to spare holders United an unwanted replay.
It was his first goal in the FA Cup and 24th in all competitions and sent 12-times winners United into the quarterfinals where it will play at Premier League leaders Chelsea.
United’s passage was far from smooth, though, against the former Premier League champions which are now struggling to retain its second-tier status.
Until United manager Jose Mourinho sent on Ibrahimovic and world record signing Paul Pogba in the 62nd minute the visitors were finding Blackburn a tough nut to crack.
Danny Graham had put the hosts ahead before United forward Marcus Rashford equalized just before the halfhour mark.
Then, in a moment of supreme quality, Pogba’s flighted pass found Ibrahimovic running in behind the Rovers rearguard and the veteran striker took his time before guiding a shot past keeper Jason Steele.
Mourinho even graciously applauded as Rovers took the lead with a goal of real quality in the 17th minute.
The lively Marvin Emnes did superbly to work some space before slipping an astute pass to Graham who finished superbly into the far corner with an angled shot.
There looked little danger when Henrikh Mkhitaryan received the ball inside his own half but he dissected the Rovers defense with a pass played with the outside of his left foot and Rashford rounded Steele before sliding home.
United dominated thereafter but still needed some inspired intervention from its substitutes to seal victory.
Lincoln could meet Sutton in unique FA Cup sixth-round tie
Lincoln City, the first minor league team to reach the FA Cup quarterfinals in 103 years, was handed a tie at either 12-time winners Arsenal or fellow National League club Sutton United when the draw for the sixth round was made on Sunday.
Lincoln, which plays in the fifth tier of the English game, could feature in a unique last-eight tie as a reward for its sensational 1-0 win at Premier League Burnley on Saturday.
Should the two National League clubs meet it would guarantee the outlandish feat of a minor league club making it to the semifinals at Wembley Stadium for the first time.
First, though, Sutton has the monumental task of winning its own dream tie at home to Arsenal in the fifth round on Monday.
The glamour fixture of the sixth round sees Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho returning to Stamford Bridge with the holders and 12-time FA Cup winners against his old club Chelsea, the Premier League leaders.
Tottenham Hotspur hosts third-tier Millwall, which knocked out Premier League champions Leicester City on Saturday.
Middlesbrough could host an all-Premier League tie against Manchester City, if Pep Guardiola’s side, as expected, beat Huddersfield Town at the second time of asking.