Box-office showdown met expectations this time... and other FA Cup talking points

More of this, less of the other

A week ago, Liverpool and Manchester United played out a match that could have passed Advertising Standards’ requirements for a commercial promoting a miracle cure for insomnia. Fast forward seven days and the FA Cup fourthround tie between the pair was

more like a visual Vitamin D supplement to aid serotonin production.

A few short decades ago, thrilling cup matches would have been the subject of a VHS compilation tape, hosted by someone like Danny Baker, and given away free with three coupons from the back of a packet of Coco Pops. Yesterday’s game at Old Trafford was not quite the ripsnorter that would have made the shortlist on Baker’s Dozen, for example, but it provided a more than pleasant interruption to a frosty Sunday afternoon.

Both managers made changes – Jurgen Klopp started Sadio Mane on the bench and opted for Thiago as a No.10, while Ole Gunnar Solskjaer did not introduce Bruno Fernandes until the

66th minute, four minutes after Mane’s arrival.

The game was the polar opposite to last week’s and gave an indication of where both managers’ priorities lie this season. United, who were criticised for their timidity last weekend, attacked from the off. Indeed, for a time when they led 2-1 thanks to goals from Mason Greenwood and Marcus Rashford after Mo Salah had given Liverpool the lead, it looked as if they might win without Fernandes.

But Salah scored again to level it up. The Portuguese – woeful at Anfield last weekend – was not to be denied. He expertly skelped the ball into Alisson’s bottom corner from a free-kick with 12 minutes left to send United through.

Klopp was visibly irritated

by referee Craig Pawson’s decision – given the ease with which Edinson Cavani went down to win it – but the defeat was not all bad news for him. His Liverpool side appeared to have recovered their mojo, scoring more than two goals against a team not called Aston Villa’s Under-18s for the first time since whacking seven past Crystal Palace on December 19.

Coote got it right

This is usually the slot where this column sings Billy Gilmour’s praises and lobbies once more for his inclusion in the Chelsea first team but, you know that, so we are not going to labour the point. The Scot was his usual tidy self in the 3-1 win over Luton, which was accompanied by a note of controversy.

Tammy Abraham’s opener arrived thanks to the quick thinking of Hakim Ziyech with the Moroccan forward’s throw-in allowing Timo Werner to scamper down the right before picking out the Chelsea centre-forward and he made no mistake with a first-time finish.

There were cries of foul play, however. Just as Ziyech took the throw, another ball rebounded on to the pitch and a couple of Luton players stopped to point this out.

Cue a protest from Luton manager Nathan Jones after the game and howls of derision on social media aimed towards referee David Coote for failing to spot the alleged transgression.

Jones claimed he asked whether the multi-ball system was in use – but it is only used

in UEFA competitions – and received contradictory answers from the fourth official and Coote. The rulebook says the decision is at the referee’s discretion and depends on whether play was suitably disrupted by the second ball entering the field of play.

It wasn’t, the Luton players who stopped were in no position to stop the goal, and that being the case, it seems Coote was correct to let play continue.

No surprises, not even Arsenal’s exit

There have been no shocks with two games to come which is a turnaround from the third round when Crawley Town dumped out Leeds United and Chorley accounted for a Covidravaged Derby.

Yes, the holders Arsenal departed the competition they have won four times in the last seven years but – mini-revival in the Premier League aside – it was hardly a surprise that Ralph Hasenhuttl’s slick Southampton side knocked them out.

Mikel Arteta’s team could have succumbed against Newcastle a fortnight ago and they wilted under an aggressive pressing game at St Mary’s making the kind of shoddy errors that had characterised their performances before Christmas.

Could it be a year for an outsider?

Southampton travel to Wolves in the fifth round while Leicester – who beat Brentford 3-1 with ease yesterday despite trailing at half time – will host Brighton

and Hove Albion. Thus two of those four will find themselves in the quarter-final draw.

Of that quartet, you would have to fancy Hasenhuttl’s and Brendan Rodgers’ respective sides’ chances of going far in the competition.

It is 39 years since Leicester last reached an FA Cup semifinal but, like Southampton, they are capable of beating anyone on their day – a valuable commodity in cup competitions – and can be backed at better than 20/1 in places.

That is certainly more attractive than the 2/5 available on a Manchester City triumph at Wembley in May. West Ham would be feeling a lot better about their chances, too, had they not been drawn against Manchester United at Old Trafford for round five.

Sometimes any win will do

The relief when Sheffield United scored their first goal in the 2-1 win against Plymouth at Bramall Lane was etched all over manager Chris Wilder’s face. When your team have just won two games all season then you will take whatever you can get in the hope that it might kick-start a revival.

The evidence of the second half might dispel that notion, however. There were unforced errors by the Premier League strugglers and missed opportunities by their League 1 visitors and, in the end, Wilder’s side were clinging on. As Ryan Lowe, the Plymouth manager, observed: “I had to chuckle a little bit when they wanted to keep it in the corner with two minutes left. They’re a Premier League team.”