Newcastle United, Brighton & Hove Albion and Luton Town booked their place in the fifth round of the FA Cup, each knocking out Premier League opposition in Fulham, Sheffield United and Everton.
Fulham 0-2 Newcastle
Newcastle won 2-0 at Craven Cottage thanks to goals in either half from Sean Longstaff and Dan Burn.
The Magpies picked a strong starting XI that included Jacob Murphy, returning from an injury that had kept him out since November. However, Miguel Almiron and Jamaal Lascelles missed out through illness and injury respectively.
It was a welcome win for Newcastle, who were knocked out of the EFL Cup at the quarter-final stage last month, less than a week after finishing bottom of their UEFA Champions League group and falling out of European competition altogether.
Having also lost their last four Premier League matches in a row, slipping to 10th position, Eddie Howe will hope an FA Cup run can reinvigorate his side's season. They travel to title hopefuls Aston Villa in the Premier League on Tuesday.
"We showed real resilience. We did what we needed to do to get through." - Boss! 💬 pic.twitter.com/KSZuSgLXQb
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) January 27, 2024
It caps off a disappointing week for Fulham, who lost their EFL Cup semi-final tie with Liverpool in midweek. Furthermore, they lost Harry Wilson to a first-half injury against Newcastle.
Sheff Utd 2-5 Brighton
Joao Pedro scored a hat-trick to inspire Brighton past Sheff Utd.
Two of Joao Pedro's three goals were penalties, meaning the Brazilian has now scored 10 spot-kicks this season, more than any other player in Europe's top five leagues, taking his overall goal tally for the season to 18 in all competitions.
Facundo Buonanotte and Danny Welbeck scored Brighton's other goals against a Sheff Utd side who had fought back from two goals down to make it 2-2 at half-time through Gustavo Hamer and William Osula.
Brighton centre-back Igor Julio made a return from injury in one of four changes from their last Premier League starting XI, while Sheff Utd also opted to rest some players, making five changes including handing a debut to new signing Ivo Grbic, a goalkeeper who joined from Atletico Madrid on Friday.
De Zerbi: One of our best performances of the season
Everton 1-2 Luton
Cauley Woodrow scored a stoppage-time winner to give Luton a 2-1 victory at Goodison Park.
Reece Burke gave Luton, whose first Premier League win came at Everton in September, a half-time lead, before Jack Harrison equalised from a Beto assist.
But Woodrow, who was playing with a broken hand following an earlier incident, struck in the sixth minute of added time past Joao Virginia, starting in the Everton goal instead of Jordan Pickford.
Both sides were close to full strength but Luton also changed their goalkeeper from their last match, replacing Thomas Kaminski with Tim Krul.
Maidstone United fairytale continues
Without doubt the story of the day, however, were Maidstone United.
The National League South side, managed by former Wolverhampton Wanderers defender George Elokobi, knocked out Championship promotion hopefuls Ipswich Town, who are 98 places above them in the English football pyramid.
Inspirational words from Maidstone boss George Elokobi ❤️#BBCFootball #FACup pic.twitter.com/loDbPRPV21
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) January 27, 2024
We are SO pleased for you, @georgeelokobi 💛 pic.twitter.com/i5G2FvhUPg
— Wolves (@Wolves) January 27, 2024
Who else has progressed?
AFC Bournemouth and Manchester City are also in the last 16. On Sunday, Wolves, Liverpool and Manchester United have the chance to progress.
Nottingham Forest, Chelsea and Aston Villa all require replays, which will take place on a date to be determined in the week beginning 5 February.
FA Cup fourth-round results
AFC Bournemouth 5-0 Swansea City
Bristol City 0-0 Nottingham Forest
Chelsea 0-0 Aston Villa
Sheffield Wednesday 1-1 Coventry City
Tottenham Hotspur 0-1 Manchester City
Ipswich Town 1-2 Maidstone United
Everton 1-2 Luton Town
Leeds United 1-1 Plymouth Argyle
Leicester City 3-0 Birmingham City
Sheffield United 2-5 Brighton & Hove Albion
Fulham 0-2 Newcastle United
FA Cup fourth-round fixtures (not inc. replays)
Sunday 28 January
11:45 GMT West Bromwich Albion v Wolverhampton Wanderers
14:00 GMT Watford v Southampton
14:30 GMT Liverpool v Norwich City
16:30 GMT Newport County v Manchester United
Monday 29 January
19:30 GMT Blackburn Rovers v Wrexham
When is the fifth-round draw?
The draw for the fifth round is due to take place at 14:00 GMT on Sunday, ahead of Liverpool's match against Norwich City.
The ball numbers for the draw are:
1 Watford or Southampton
2 Blackburn Rovers or Wrexham
3 AFC Bournemouth
4 West Bromwich Albion or Wolverhampton Wanderers
5 Bristol City or Nottingham Forest
6 Leicester City
7 Sheffield Wednesday or Coventry City
8 Chelsea or Aston Villa
9 Maidstone United
10 Liverpool or Norwich City
11 Manchester City
12 Leeds United or Plymouth Argyle
13 Luton Town
14 Newport County or Manchester United
15 Brighton & Hove Albion
16 Fulham or Newcastle United
When is the fifth round?
Fifth-round ties are scheduled to take place midweek of the week starting 26 February.
