The FA Cup third round produced some fascinating encounters across the football pyramid, but Saturday’s opening matches brought little more than one major shock.
Premier League side Brentford were stunned by Championship strugglers Plymouth, losing 1-0 at the Gtech Stadium.
Morgan Whittaker scored the only goal of the match, in the 82nd minute, breaking hearts in west London but sending the southern support into raptures of celebrations.
Brentford had 71% possession in the match, but managed just 0.41xG, compared to their opponents’ 0.28.
Elsewhere, early kick-offs saw Birmingham beat Lincoln, Wolves beat Bristol City, Blackburn beat Middlesbrough and Liverpool beat League Two side Accrington Stanley.
At 3 p.m. Leicester scored six points after QPR and Premier League rivals Bournemouth scored five against West Brom.
Chelsea quickly qualified for the next round by beating Morecambe 5-0, with Joao Felix and Christopher Nkunku both getting on the scoresheet.
We’re out of the FA Cup. pic.twitter.com/gGtOtxkdfL
– Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) January 11, 2025
Exeter defeated Oxford United and Brighton traveled to Norwich and scored four unanswered.
Nottingham Forest also continued their winning streak by beating Luton, before extra time saw Burnley defeat Reading and Stoke eliminate Sunderland.
FA Cup third round results
Birmingham City 2-0 Lincoln City
Bristol City 1-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Middlesbrough 0-1 Blackburn Rovers
Liverpool 4-0 Accrington Stanley
Leicester City 6-2 Queens Park Rangers
Bournemouth 5-1 West Bromwich Albion
Brentford 0-1 Plymouth Argyle
Chelsea 5-0 Morecambe
Exeter City 3-1 Oxford United
Norwich City 0-4 Brighton and Hove Albion
Nottingham Forest 2-0 Luton Town
Reading 1-3 Burnley (AET)
Sunderland 1-2 Stoke City (AET)
