Man U book FA Cup date with Chelsea
LINCOLN THREAT TO ARSENAL
LONDON – Lincoln City boss Danny Cowley hailed his giantkillers for bringing the “magic” back to the FA Cup on Saturday but, 24 hours later, Tottenham and Manchester United restored order to the competition.
It appeared Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino and United boss Jose Mourinho had learnt lessons from Lincoln’s shock 1-0 victory over Premier League Burnley and champions Leicester’s similar loss to 10-man Millwall of the third tier.
But Pochettino was keen to end a tough week with a win following defeats to Liverpool and Belgian side Gent in the Europa League so he fielded an almost full-strength side and was rewarded by a Harry Kane hattrick in a 3-0 victory over Fulham yesterday.
Spurs will host Millwall in the quarterfinals but will be wary of the 2004 FA Cup finalists who have claimed three Premier League scalps this season already.
Mourinho, whose side beat St Etienne 3-0 in their Europa League clash last Thursday, made several changes to his line-up.
Unlike his Leicester counterpart Claudio Ranieri, who made 10 changes, it didn’t backfire as United came from 1-0 down to beat Blackburn 2-1 although it called for veteran Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic to come off the bench to seal victory.
Mourinho, who will relish the chance to put one over his former employers when United travel to Chelsea for the quarterfinals, said he was fortunate his players had shown the right attitude otherwise they might also be out. United’s neighbours Manchester City face a troublesome replay after a goalless draw with Huddersfield of the Championship.
The winners will travel to Middlesbrough. Lincoln’s fellow nonleague side Sutton will be hoping to round off a weekend of shocks tonight against Arsenal.