Cup exploits

FA Cup action took centre stage this weekend, with Chelsea loanees enjoying mixed fortunes in the third round.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek played the first 90 minutes of a west London derby between Queens Park Rangers and Fulham that went to extra-time with the game goalless. Fulham scored twice in the additional half-hour to progress.

Elsewhere on Saturday, there was a shock as West Bromwich Albion were beaten on penalties by League 1 Blackpool following a 2-2 draw. Conor Gallagher was withdrawn on the hour with the score at 1-1.

Sheffield United secured their first win of the season with Ethan Ampadu on the left side of a back three. In a topsy-turvy game, they battled to a 3-2 win at Bristol Rovers. Luke McCormick played the full game for the Gas, who twice equalised against their Premier League opponents.

Jamal Blackman and Rotherham took Everton to extra-time at Goodison Park but eventually succumbed 2-1, while Jamie Cumming’s Stevenage were beaten 2-0 by Swansea, for whom Marc Guehi was an unused sub.

There were also FA Cup defeats for Jake Clarke-Salter and Michy Batshuayi, with Birmingham well beaten at Man City, and Crystal Palace going down 1-0 to Wolves without registering a shot on target.

In a League One fixture, Accrington Stanley beat Charlton, featuring Ian Maatsen, 2-0 at the Valley. Nathan Baxter made some impressive saves for the visitors, with Jon Russell and Tariq Uwakwe unused subs. Accrington are up to sixth in League One with games in hand on the teams above them.

Another young goalkeeper, Ethan Wady, couldn’t help prevent Dartford slipping to a 2-1 defeat at Braintree in the National League South.

The standout contribution from a Chelsea loanee on the continent came from Tiemoue Bakayoko, who headed a last-minute winner for Napoli away to Udinese. That 2-1 success followed a surprise midweek defeat to Spezia by the same scoreline.

Elsewhere in Italy, there was also a win and a loss for Davide Zappacosta and Genoa in Serie A. He played right wing-back in a 2-1 defeat at Sassuolo, and then a 2-0 success over Bologna that moved Genoa out of the relegation zone.

Moving around Europe, Trevoh Chalobah made two appearances for Lorient in the past week. He came on in the 5-2 loss at home to Monaco, and then started at right-back as Lorient were beaten 2-1 by Bordeaux.

In Belgium, the Jupiler League returned after a winter break but there were defeats for Matt Miazga and Ike Ugbo, as Anderlecht and Cercle Bruges were beaten by Leuven and Eupen respectively.

Kenedy registered an assist in Granada’s extra-time Copa del Rey victory at Cultural Leonesa, and then had a cameo off the bench as Barcelona won 4-0 in a La Liga fixture.

In Turkey, Trabzonspor beat Goztepe 1-0 with Lewis Baker playing the full game.

We finish with the good news that Marco van Ginkel was back in a matchday squad for the first time since May 2018. He was unused substitute as PSV drew 2-2 at their big rivals Ajax, and is pictured top in training last week.