The third round games in the FA Cup, to which 64 teams qualified, continue today (Saturday). Tottenham beat Portsmouth in the main game of the afternoon, Manor Solomon played for the first time since being injured at the start of the season as Fulham beat Hull City, Newcastle United were surprised and knocked out by Sheffield Wednesday and Liverpool host Wolves in the game that closes the day.
Liverpool – Wolves 1:0 (1st half)
Jurgen Klopp’s team returned from the World Cup with two consecutive victories and the fourth place in the league felt within reach again, but then Liverpool was embarrassed 3:1 by Brentford. In the same game, the defender Virgil van Dijk was also injured and will be absent for over a month, and despite the long list of injured and the danger of additional injuries, Klopp came up with a particularly strong team against the bottom team from the Premier League.
The one who will make his debut in the Mighty Reds uniform is the acquired midfielder Kofi Gakpo who has been training with the team in recent days alongside Mohamed Salah and Darvin Nunes. By the way, the last time Liverpool was eliminated from the cup already in the third round was in the 2018/19 season, when they lost 2:1 to Wolves in an away game. They have not yet met in the league this season.
At the press conference before the game, Klopp said about Van Dijk’s injury: “It’s a big blow. He didn’t feel it that much, but I replaced him at halftime anyway. It was one sprint too many. He was tested after the game and the results were bad – he’ll be out for a few weeks , over a month, and we will hope he returns soon. He won’t be able to play right now, but we will use him off the field.”
the progress of the game:
4th minute: Mohamed Salah’s free kick narrowly missed Wolves’ frame and went over the crossbar.
Minute 5: Salah passed a ball to Cody Gakpo on the edge of the box, and the Dutchman in his first touch got free for a kick that was well stopped by Matija Sarkić.
14th minute: A huge mistake by Joel Matip almost ended in a close push by Gonzalo Gadesh, but the Portuguese midfielder was unable to finish from close range a ball that went out.
26th minute: Goal! Gadesh took advantage of Alison’s shocking pass and easily scored in front of a half-empty goal to give the Wolves the advantage – an amazing 0:1 for the Wolves!
Tottenham – Portsmouth 0:1
Antonio Conte did make a partial rotation against the team ranked 12th in the third division in England, but he continued with Brian Heal, Jung Min Son and Harry Kane in attack and saw the striker bring Spurs to the last 32 stage with his 265th goal in the Tottenham uniform – one short of the club’s record of conquests , Jimmy Greaves. The Roosters recorded a second consecutive victory in all competitions after opening 2023 with a 2-0 loss to Aston Villa, and can prepare with peace of mind for the North London derby where they will meet Arsenal in eight days’ time.
Hull City – Fulham 2:0
Manor Solomon injured his knee at the beginning of August and has not played since. Tonight, in the cup match against Hull, the Israeli winger made his first appearance in five months when he came off the bench in place of Harry Wilson in the 76th minute and saw Leibin Kurzoa (37) and Daniel James (90+4) take his team to the next stage of the FA Cup.
Sheffield Wednesday – Newcastle 1:2
The third-ranked in the Premier League was surprised against Sheffield Wednesday from the third division and already in the last 64 stage recorded an early elimination. The team from the minor league took a double lead in the second half from a pair of goals by Josh Windass (52 and 66). Eddie Howe decided to bring the first team players from the bench in the form of Kieran Trippier, Miguel Almiron and Bruno Guimaraes who brought the guest back into the game (69) with a clinching goal, but it was not enough for the Magpies and they registered a third year in a row without qualifying for the fourth round.
More games:
Crystal Palace – Southampton 2:1
For Palace: Oudson Eduard (14). For Southampton: James Ward-Prowse (17), Adam Armstrong (68)
Gillingham – Leicester City 1:0
For Leicester: Kelechi Iheanacho (56)
Bournemouth – Burnley 4:2
For Bournemouth: Ryan Christie (12), Dominic Solanke (48). Burnley: Manuel Benson (6 and 57), Anas Zarouri (39 and 43)
Middlesbrough – Brighton 5:1
For Middlesbrough: Chuba Akpom (13). For Brighton: Pascal Gros (8), Adam Lallana (29), Alexis McAllister (58 and 80), Denis Ondav (88)
Blackpool – Nottingham Forest 1:4
For Blackpool: Marvin Ekfitte (17), Ian Povda (64), CJ Hamilton (71), Jerry Yates (87). For Forest: Ryan Yates (90+2)
Brentford – West Ham 1:0
West Ham: Saeed Benrahma (79)