LONDON, England (Reuters) – Liverpool cruised past fourth-tier Accrington Stanley and Chelsea, Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth and Leicester City also outclassed lower division opponents on a largely shock-free day in the FA Cup third round on Saturday.
Seven Premier League clubs moved in to round four but it was not all one-way traffic for the top flight sides as Brentford slipped to a 1-0 home defeat against Championship (second-tier) strugglers Plymouth Argyle in the day’s big surprise.
Diogo Jota and Trent Alexander-Arnold’s first-half goals and strikes from Jayden Danns and Federico Chiesa after the break secured Liverpool a 4-0 win over Accrington at Anfield in manager Arne Slot’s first game in the competition.
Accrington were holding their own against the Premier League leaders but Alexander-Arnold, wearing the captain’s armband amid intense speculation about his future, smashed a shot into the top corner just before halftime to put Liverpool in control.
“I can talk for hours about that! Unbelievable!” Slot said of Alexander-Arnold’s effort, adding that he had been impressed with the fullback after he was widely-criticised for his display against Manchester United last week.
“I think it was good for him to play again in our own stadium, to feel the reception of the fans again.”
Chelsea booked their place in round four with a 5-0 hammering of a Morecambe side who are second from bottom in the fourth tier — Tosin Adarabioyo scoring twice for Enzo Maresca’s side who enjoyed a first win in five games.
Joao Felix also helped himself to a double late on while Christopher Nkunku was also on target for Chelsea.
Premier League high-flyers Nottingham Forest stretched their winning run to seven games as goals by Ryan Yates and Ramon Sosa earned them a 2-0 win against managerless Luton Town.
Bournemouth fell behind early on against second-tier West Bromwich Albion but moved through the gears to win 5-1 and extend their unbeaten run to nine games.
Caleb Taylor gave West Brom the lead but Dango Ouattara scored twice as Bournemouth stormed back.
Georginio Rutter’s first-half brace eased Brighton to an impressive 4-0 win at Championship side Norwich City while Wolverhampton Wanderers won 2-1 at Bristol City.
Leicester City could forget about their Premier League relegation fears for one day as they beat second-tier Queens Park Rangers 6-2 at a misty King Power Stadium.
James Justin poked in Leicester’s opener and after Jonathan Varane equalised for QPR, Stephy Mavididi and Facundo Buonanotte made it 3-1 only for Rayan Kolli to give the visitors a lifeline just before the interval.
Jamie Vardy converted a penalty on his 38th birthday to restore Leicester’s two-goal lead before Justin grabbed his second and Wout Faes smashed in Leicester’s sixth.
Championship bottom club Plymouth ended an 11-match winless streak in style with Morgan Whittaker’s low left-foot drive in the 82nd minute sending the away faithful into raptures.
It was Plymouth’s first victory over a top-flight club for more than 40 years.
League One (third-tier) Exeter City reached the fourth round for the first time in 44 years as they upset second-tier Oxford United 3-1.
Manchester City host Salford City later on Saturday.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Toby Davis)
