Arsenal dumped out by Southampton; Man City turn it on to avoid shock at Cheltenham; West Ham hit four past Doncaster; Yves Bissouma stunner sees Brighton beat Blackpool; Sheffield United avoid scare against Plymouth; wins for Barnsley, Bristol City and Swansea in round four
Sunday 24 January 2021 16:56, UK
Arsenal were dumped out of the FA Cup on Saturday by Southampton, but Premier League sides Man City, West Ham, Brighton and Sheffield United all safely progressed.
FA Cup holders Arsenal were knocked out in the fourth round by Southampton on Saturday after a first-half own goal from Gabriel.
The Brazil centre back deflected Kyle Walker-Peters' low drive past Bernd Leno midway through the opening 45 minutes at St Mary's - the first goal the visitors had conceded in over eight and a half hours stretching back to Boxing Day - as Southampton got the better of Arsenal for the first time in the competition.
As a result, Ralph Hasenhuttl's side will take on Wolves at Molineux in February's fifth round after they edged past non-league Chorley Town 1-0 on Friday night.
Manchester City were nine minutes away from being dumped out of the FA Cup by League Two Cheltenham but late goals saved their bacon as they rallied to earn a 3-1 win.
Longshots are regularly seen in this part of the world with Cheltenham racecourse just a mile away from the Jonny-Rocks Stadium and Michael Duff's team almost created another one when Alfie May prodded them ahead (59) against a team 72 places above them in the league pyramid.
It looked to be one of those nights in the famous competition as City squandered chances but with just nine minutes to go Phil Foden drew City level (81) before Gabriel Jesus ended the possibility of extra-time with another close-range finish (84).
Ferran Torres added an unfair gloss to the scoreline in added time (90+3) as this was a night all about the work-rate, quality and defensive brilliance from the League Two side.
West Ham cruised into the FA Cup fifth round with a routine 4-0 home win over Doncaster.
First-half goals from Pablo Fornals and Andriy Yarmolenko put David Moyes' side in control and after Andy Butler put through his own net, debutant Oladapo Afolayan added the cherry on top with a late fourth.
The win sets up a last-16 meeting with one of Manchester United or Liverpool for the Hammers, who have now won their last five matches.
Yves Bissouma's stunning strike helped Brighton avoid an FA Cup upset as they scraped into the fifth round with a 2-1 win over League One Blackpool.
Albion midfielder Bissouma, who has been linked with a host of Europe's top clubs in recent weeks, underlined his undoubted ability by opening the scoring with a thunderous drive from fully 30 yards.
The visitors briefly levelled through Gary Madine's close-range finish but were unable to claim a second successive Premier League scalp as Seagulls midfielder Steven Alzate claimed a fortuitous second-half winner.
Albion's narrow victory books a fifth-round trip to either Brentford or Leicester and provides a timely confidence boost ahead of Wednesday's top-flight showdown with fellow strugglers Fulham.
Sheffield United secured just their third win of the season as evergreen striker Billy Sharp helped Chris Wilder's men avoid an FA Cup upset with a 2-1 win against Plymouth.
The Blades have endured a wretched campaign but some cup tonic for the Premier League's bottom side continued as they earned a third win from four games in all competitions.
Sharp was the key man at Bramall Lane, providing a fine cross for Chris Basham's opener (39) before scoring a neat goal early in the second half (47) that proved decisive against the League One side.
Panutche Camara's goal made it a nervy final 15 minutes, but the Blades, who had controlled the game before then and spurned several other opportunities, held on to set up a home fifth-round tie against Bristol City.
Swansea strolled into the fifth round of the FA Cup with a 5-1 victory over Championship rivals Nottingham Forest.
Doubles from Matt Grimes and Liam Cullen, as well as Oli Cooper's first senior goal, sent Swansea into the last 16 of the competition for the third time in four seasons.
Anthony Knockaert gave Forest hope at 2-1 at the start of the second half, before a controversial penalty restored the hosts' cushion.
But Swansea showed the form which has taken them to second spot in the Championship in extending their unbeaten home run at the Liberty Stadium to 10 games.
Callum Styles fired a deserved winner as Barnsley beat Norwich 1-0 to reach the FA Cup fifth round for the first time in eight years.
Man-of-the-match Styles struck the decisive goal early in the second half as the Reds gained revenge for their narrow defeat to the Sky Bet Championship leaders earlier this month.
Victory for Barnsley sets up a home tie against Luton or Premier League Chelsea, who the South Yorkshire side famously beat at Oakwell in 2008 to reach the semi-finals.
A dominant second-half performance eased Bristol City past Millwall at The Den, with a 3-0 win securing their place in the fifth round of the FA Cup for just the second time in 20 years.
The visitors took the lead against the run of play through a Famara Diedhiou penalty and despite creating a number of opportunities, Millwall were unable to get the better of Max O'Leary in the Bristol City goal.
The all-Championship encounter was effectively settled by a deflected Nahki Wells free-kick just before the hour mark, before Antoine Semenyo capped a thoroughly professional performance from Dean Holden's side.
The FA Cup schedule has been confirmed, with the final set to take place at Wembley on Saturday May 15.
There will be no replays this season to help ease fixture congestion.