FA Cup 5th round: Southampton knock out Wolves; Chelsea progress to the final eight

FA Cup 5th round report as Southampton knock out Wolves and Chelsea progress to the final eight.

Wolverhampton 0, Southampton 2

Second-half strikes from Danny Ings and Stuart Armstrong sink Wolves

Second-half strikes from Danny Ings and Stuart Armstrong helped Southampton knock out Wolverhampton in a 5th round clash of the FA Cup at the Molineux stadium on Thursday night.

Despite arriving at the Molineux on the back of four successive Premier league defeats, Ralph Hasenhuttl's Saints displayed early confidence as they went on the attack from the very onset. With full-backs Kyle Walker-Peters and Ryan Bertrand both careening down the flanks at every opportunity, Ings, Armstrong and Moussa Djenepo all went close to scoring in an otherwise goalless first half.

The Saints however opened in the 49th minute under freakish circumstances when Ings' shot from close-range from a tight angle was saved by Wolves keeper John Ruddy but the ball ricocheted off the striker's leg to trickle over the line. The goal was initially disallowed for an offside but awarded after a VAR check.

Adama Traore coming in as a substitute gave the Wolves a rare glimpse of the goal but Southampton keeper Fraser Forster blocked his close-range effort before an error by Ruddy in clearing a ball allowed Armstrong to seal a win for the visiting Saints with a cool side-foot finish on the stroke of 90th minute.

Southampton, who currently sit 12th on the Premier League points table, last won the FA Cup in 1976 beating Manchester United and lost to Arsenal in the finals in 2003.

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Barnsley 0, Chelsea 1

Lone Tammy Abraham sends Tuchels’s Blues through to Final 8

Tammy Abraham scored the lone winner as Chelsea booked a berth in the final eight of the 2020-21 FA Cup after beating second tier club Barnsley at the Oakwell stadium on Thursday.
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel went for sidelined players for the tie even as they failed to impress.

The completely ignored goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, Emerson Palmieri, Kurt Zouma and 19-year-old midfielder Billy Gilmour all made their first appearances under Tuchel while Christian Pulisic and N'Golo Kante made first starts since the German’s advent at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea's only attempt in the first half ended with Pulisic sending Callum Hudson-Odoi's cross wide. Barnsley were the better side in the period with Kepa blocking Callum Brittain's effort at point-blank range.

The winning goal came in the 64th minute from a splendid move with Gilmour’s searching ball finding Reece James who in turn squared for Abraham to finish for his 12th goal of the season.

Chelsea are now unbeaten in 5 games since Tuchel took charge in late January and play Sheffield United in the quarter-finals of the tournament scheduled for March 20th.

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