FOOTBALL – SHEA Charles scored five minutes from fulltime as second-tier side Southampton stunned Arsenal with a 2-1 victory in their FA Cup quarter-final at St Mary’s on a night they remembered a famous victory in the competition 50 years ago.
Southampton took the lead on 35 minutes through Ross Stewart, but Arsenal were level midway through the second half when Viktor Gyokeres equalised. The Premier League leaders looked the most likely winners from there.
But when the home side launched a counter-attack on 85 minutes, they did so with numbers and Tom Fellows fed Charles in the box for him to poke the ball past goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Southampton, who wore a special yellow commemorative jersey to mark 50 years since their 1976 FA Cup final win over Manchester United, join Manchester City and Chelsea in the semi-finals.
West Ham United host Leeds United in the last of the quarter-finals today.
The result heaped more misery on Arsenal, who were defeated in the League Cup final by Manchester City in their last match, and now bow out of a competition they have won a record 14 times.
Southampton manager Tonda Eckert extended his unbeaten run to 15 games in all competitions. Although his side had to soak up long periods of Arsenal pressure, they deserved their victory.
They might have hit the front when Leo Scienza was through on goal with just goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga to beat, but as he delayed his shot, Cristhian Mosquera was able to dispossess him of the ball.
Southampton did take the lead after a horror moment at the back for Arsenal defender Ben White. A simple aerial cross from James Bree was missed by White and fell perfectly for Stewart to collect and fire past Kepa.
Southampton came close to a second when Scienza’s dipping shot from the left-hand side of the box hit the top of the crossbar.
But Arsenal were back level on 68 minutes as substitute Viktor Gyokeres side-footed into the net from 10 yards after a fine run from Kai Havertz teed-up the chance.
They looked the most likely to go on and win it, but with the clock running down, a quick break from Southampton created the chance for Charles, who could not miss from 12 yards.
Meanwhile, Erling Haaland scored a hat-trick as Manchester City crushed Liverpool 4-0 at the Etihad Stadium to cruise into the semi-finals and Chelsea also booked their spot in the last four with a 7-0 win over third-tier strugglers Port Vale.
Champions Liverpool played well in the opening half-hour with Mohamed Salah wasting an early chance, but once Haaland had scored from the spot in the 37th minute after a foul on Nico O’Reilly their resistance crumbled.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk conceded the penalty with a rash challenge, and there was little the Dutch defender could do as City played scintillating attacking football for the remainder of the game.
His blond hair swinging behind him in a ponytail, Haaland netted his second two minutes into first-half stoppage time with a well-placed header from an excellent Antoine Semenyo cross.
Semenyo got on the scoresheet himself five minutes after the break, latching on to a ball in behind from Rayan Cherki and chipping it beautifully past Giorgi Mamardashvili, and Haaland completed his treble with a shot off the underside of the crossbar in the 57th minute.
Liverpool’s woes continued when Mohamed Salah, who is set to leave the club at the end of the season, capped off a poor performance by having his penalty saved by James Trafford, snuffing out any faint hopes Liverpool might have had of a comeback.
As the game turned into a victory parade, many Liverpool fans started heading for the exits, and City manager Pep Guardiola rang the changes, replacing Haaland with Omar Marmoush, the Norwegian striker receiving a standing ovation as he left the field.
Chelsea had failed to score a goal in over 300 minutes of play in all competitions before Saturday, but went ahead in 64 seconds in their quarter-final against Port Vale when Jorrel Hato pounced on poor defending by the visitors.
Port Vale are bottom of England’s third tier but had beaten Premier League Sunderland in the previous round.
A close-range strike by Joao Pedro and an own goal by Jordan Lawrence-Gabriel gave the eight-time FA Cup winners a 3-0 lead at halftime before headed goals by Tosin Adarabioyo and Andrey Santos, a poacher’s finish by Estevao and an Alejandro Garnacho penalty wrapped up the win.
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