The toxic atmosphere engulfing Manchester United reached a new nadir on Sunday as director of football Jason Wilcox was subjected to a barrage of boos and abuse from furious supporters upon his arrival at Old Trafford, foreshadowing a disastrous afternoon that saw the Red Devils crash out of the FA Cup at the first hurdle for the first time in over a decade.
Arne Slot has vowed that he will not be making the same mistake twice at Liverpool, with the Reds boss taking valuable lessons from an FA Cup giant-killing in 2025. Some 12 months ago, the then-runaway Premier League leaders suffered a humbling third-round defeat to Plymouth - who were bottom of the Championship at the time. They are now preparing to face Barnsley in 2026 and will avoid any sweeping changes.
On the weekend that the Bundesliga returned after its winter hiatus and two of Serie A's top three met in a crucial clash in the fight for the Scudetto, much of Europe was focused on cup competitions of varying degrees of importance. England and France played host to the latest rounds of their domestic tournaments while Spain and Turkey followed France's lead from earlier in the week in crowning their Super Cup champions.
Manchester United wonderkid Shea Lacey has apologised for the petulant red card that he picked up in an FA Cup clash with Brighton. The talented teenager feels as though he "let everybody down" when being dismissed towards the end of a forgettable 2-1 defeat for the Red Devils that has seen them hit a 111-year low. Lacey picked up two yellow cards in the space of three minutes.
Everything you need to know about the 2025-26 FA Cup fourth round draw, including when it is, how to watch it live for free, ball numbers for teams and more.
Danny Welbeck has joked that revealing the secrets behind his incredible longevity might attract the attention of "drug testers" after he returned to haunt Manchester United once again. The 35-year-old striker rolled back the years to score a stunner as Brighton dumped his former club out of the FA Cup, sparking fresh talk of a shock England World Cup recall.
Manchester United suffered more humiliation on the back of their FA Cup third-round defeat to Brighton, with it being revealed that Bruno Fernandesâ X account was hacked. The Portuguese playmaker, who is club captain at Old Trafford, played the full 90 minutes of the 2-1 loss to the Seagulls. Bizarre posts appeared on one of his social channels a few hours later, including an anti-INEOS message, but he was not responsible for their sharing.
GOAL reviews the major takeaways from Americans playing in Europe, including concern over Pepi after an injury and Folarin Balogun getting on the scoresheet.
Darren Fletcher has hinted he will not be given the Manchester United job for the remainder of the season after his side were dumped out of the FA Cup in the third round by Brighton. The former United midfielder has failed to win either of his games since being named interim boss following Ruben Amorim's sacking on Monday, having overseen a 2-2 draw at relegation-threatened Burnley on Wednesday.
Manchester United triggered an extraordinary 111-year low after they were beaten by a Danny Welbeck-inspired Brighton and Hove Albion in the third round of the FA Cup on Sunday evening. The ex-Red Devils striker came back to haunt his former paymasters, who were reduced to ten men late on when academy graduate Shea Lacey was sent off at Old Trafford.
Manchester United wonderkid Shea Lacey picked up the first red card of his career in petulant circumstances as the Red Devils suffered more frustration against Brighton in the FA Cup. Old Trafford was left stunned by another abject performance from a star-studded cast, with teenage winger Lacey compounding their misery when he was dismissed in the final minute of the 90.
Ryan Reynolds was once again spotted picking grass from the Racecourse Ground pitch prior to Wrexham claiming a Premier League scalp in the 2025-26 FA Cup. The Red Dragons prevailed on penalties at the end of an epic third-round clash with Nottingham Forest, and one of their Hollywood co-owners made sure that he had a memento to take back to the United States.
Danny Welbeck haunted Manchester United yet again as Brighton became only the third team in 43 years to knock the Red Devils out of the FA Cup in the third round. Welbeck played his part in the Seagulls taking the lead at Old Trafford and then doubled their advantage with a second-half piledriver.
West Ham defender Konstantinos Mavropanos had to be stretchered from the field after suffering a worrying head injury in the Hammersâ FA Cup third-round clash with Queens Park Rangers. The former Arsenal centre-half formed part of a nasty collision late in the first half, leading to him requiring lengthy treatment on the field and urgent medical attention off it.
Arsenal booked their place in the fourth round of the FA Cup with a 4-1 win over Championship side Portsmouth on Sunday afternoon. Gabriel Martinelli bagged an all-important hat-trick, while Andre Dozzell scored an own goal, as the Gunners survived an early scare to maintain their push for a first piece of silverware since winning the same competition six years ago.
Darren Fletcher, who has worked with JJ Gabriel at U18 level with Manchester United, has explained why the 15-year-old wonderkid is not being fast-tracked into the first-team fold at Old Trafford. The exciting youngster is eligible to feature in an FA Cup third-round clash with Brighton, as that competition uses different rules to the Premier League, but the decision has been made to hold him back.
Jorrel Hato has praised new Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior, after the Blues thumped Charlton 5-1 in the 3rd round of the FA Cup. The young Dutchman opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time as he powered home a bouncing ball on the edge of the Addicks' area with a fierce left-footed strike. Speaking after the game, the left back said he felt Rosenior's style "suits" this Chelsea squad.
Liam Rosenior's tenure as Chelsea boss got off to a brilliant start, as the Blues bested a spirited Charlton side 5-1 at They Valley. Jorrell Hato opened the scoring with a beautifully struck volley just before half time. Toisin Adarabioyo added a second, with Miles Leaburn offering a brief reply, before Marc Guiu, Pedro Neto and Enzo Fernandez rounded off the scoring for the Blues.
Micky van de Ven defended Tottenham and Aston Villa's fracas at the end of their FA Cup third round tie, but sent a blunt warning to his Spurs team-mates that they cannot only show "this passion" when they are losing, having gone into half-time 2-0 down.
Antoine Semenyo left a lasting impression on his new Manchester City teammates with his man of the match performance in the Sky Blues 10-1 win over Exeter City in the third round of the FA Cup. The former Bournemouth man grabbed a goal and an assist, prompting Rico Lewis to say the Ghanaian international made a "seamless transition" into Pep Guardiola's side.
Tottenham Hotspur saw their injury crisis worsen after Brazil international Richarlison limped out of their FA Cup third-round tie with Aston Villa on Saturday evening. The north Londoners are now sweating on the fitness of the 28-year-old striker, who had to be replaced midway through the first half after picking up a suspected hamstring problem.
Marc Guehi could be the beneficiary of an FA rule change on player eligibility in cup competitions. The Crystal Palace captain was part of the Eagles embarrassing 2-1 loss at minnows Macclesfield in defence of their FA Cup crown, but could continue in the competition if he completes a switch to Manchester City or Arsenal in the January transfer window.
Marc Guehi was spotted approaching angry Crystal Palace fans in the aftermath of his sideâs historic FA Cup defeat against sixth-tier Macclesfield FC on Saturday afternoon. The Eagles captain came face-to-face with the travelling supporters following a seismic loss which manager Oliver Glasner said he had âno explanationâ for after the full-time whistle.
Macclesfield made history on Saturday, as the first non-league club to knock out the reigning FA Cup winners since 1909 thanks to their 2-1 win over Premier League outfit Crystal Palace. A phoenix club established in 2020 after the winding up of Macclesfield Town FC, their achievement is truly remarkable. Here's all you need to know about the Silkmen.
Macclesfield FC captain Paul Dawson dedicated his sideâs incredible FA Cup victory over holders Crystal Palace to late team-mate Ethan McLeod, who died in a car crash at the age of just 21 last month. The Silkmen produced one of the greatest upsets in the tournamentâs history as they defeated Oliver Glasnerâs Eagles at Moss Rose Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Manchester City opened up their FA Cup campaign with a barely believable 10-1 victory over Exeter City in the third round on Saturday. Antoine Semenyo scored and assisted on his debut for the Cityzens, while youngster Max Alleyne also netted his first goal for the club, as Pep Guardiola's side swept aside their League One opponents at the Etihad Stadium.
Wrexhamâs Hollywood co-owner Rob Mac has described his sideâs performance in their FA Cup third-round victory over Nottingham Forest as âincredibleâ. The Red Dragons produced a sublime showing to knock out their Premier League opposition on penalties, producing the first shock of the round. After the game, McElhenney was unable to hide his delight.
Wayne Rooney was reduced to tears on punditry duty for the BBC as he watched his brother John produce the greatest shock result in FA Cup history. Non-league side Macclesfield FC ran out 2-1 winners over cup holders Crystal Palace to progress to the fourth round and shock the footballing world with a late Yeremy Pino consolation not enough to save the Eaglesâ blushes.
.jpg?auto=webp&format=pjpg&width=3840&quality=60)
.jpg?auto=webp&format=pjpg&width=3840&quality=60)
.jpg?auto=webp&format=pjpg&width=3840&quality=60)
