Arsenal and Liverpool booked their place in the fourth round of the FA Cup thank to victories over Plymouth and Preston respectively, while Chelsea were held at home by minnows Southend and Nottingham Forest caused one of the biggest upsets by knocking out Manchester City.
The Gunners were cruised into the fourth round with a 3-1 win over Plymouth.
The Championship side fell behind two minutes into the second period. Stand-in captain Robin van Persie opened the scoring with a header and David Gray's own goal had Arsenal in cruise control.
But skipper Karl Duguid gave Plymouth hope when he steered home from close range following a lofted free-kick.
Plymouth continued to press for an equaliser but it was though van Persie who had the final say as his second goal gave Arsenal a 3-1 win.
Premier League leaders Liverpool recorded a comfortable 2-0 victory at Preston.
The Reds had much the better of the first half but had only Albert Riera's effort to show for a string of wasted chances.
Substitute Fernando Torres then marked his return from a six-week injury lay-off by tapping-in a simple second to seal the win.
Chelsea were unable to book their place in the next round after being held to a 1-1 draw by League One side Southend.
Salomon Kalou headed the hosts in front after 31 minutes but Peter Clarke was the hero for the Shrimpers as headed home a 90th minute equaliser after some woeful Blues defending.
At City of Manchester Stadium, City were knocked out of the third round after a humiliating 3-0 home defeat to Championship club Forest.
Nathan Tyson struck first after 38 minutes and Robert Earnshaw made no mistake from close range for the second.
Joe Garner added a third in the 75th minute to heap the pressure on under fire City boss Mark Hughes, whose team is also struggling in the Premier League.
Others scorline in FA Cup on Saturday:
Technorati tags:World soccer Soccer news Football news FA Cup Arsenal Liverpool Chelsea Manchester City
The Gunners were cruised into the fourth round with a 3-1 win over Plymouth.
The Championship side fell behind two minutes into the second period. Stand-in captain Robin van Persie opened the scoring with a header and David Gray's own goal had Arsenal in cruise control.
But skipper Karl Duguid gave Plymouth hope when he steered home from close range following a lofted free-kick.
Plymouth continued to press for an equaliser but it was though van Persie who had the final say as his second goal gave Arsenal a 3-1 win.
Premier League leaders Liverpool recorded a comfortable 2-0 victory at Preston.
The Reds had much the better of the first half but had only Albert Riera's effort to show for a string of wasted chances.
Substitute Fernando Torres then marked his return from a six-week injury lay-off by tapping-in a simple second to seal the win.
Chelsea were unable to book their place in the next round after being held to a 1-1 draw by League One side Southend.
Salomon Kalou headed the hosts in front after 31 minutes but Peter Clarke was the hero for the Shrimpers as headed home a 90th minute equaliser after some woeful Blues defending.
At City of Manchester Stadium, City were knocked out of the third round after a humiliating 3-0 home defeat to Championship club Forest.
Nathan Tyson struck first after 38 minutes and Robert Earnshaw made no mistake from close range for the second.
Joe Garner added a third in the 75th minute to heap the pressure on under fire City boss Mark Hughes, whose team is also struggling in the Premier League.
Others scorline in FA Cup on Saturday:
| Cardiff | 2-0 | Reading |
| Charlton | 1-1 | Norwich |
| Coventry | 2-0 | Kidderminster |
| Forest Green | 4-3 | Derby |
| Hartlepool | 2-0 | Stoke |
| Hull | 0-0 | Newcastle |
| Ipswich | 3-0 | Chesterfield |
| Kettering | 2-1 | Eastwood Town |
| Leicester | 0-0 | Crystal Palace |
| Macclesfield | 0-1 | Everton |
| Middlesbrough | 2-1 | Barrow |
| Millwall | 2-0 | Crewe |
| Portsmouth | 0-0 | Bristol City |
| QPR | 0-0 | Burnley |
| Sheff Wed | 1-2 | Fulham |
| Sunderland | 2-1 | Bolton |
| Torquay | 1-0 | Blackpool |
| Watford | 1-0 | Scunthorpe |
| West Brom | 1-1 | Peterborough |
| West Ham | 3-0 | Barnsley |
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Technorati tags:World soccer Soccer news Football news FA Cup Arsenal Liverpool Chelsea Manchester City
