Christian Pulisic’s run and drawn penalty earned Chelsea the insurance goal in their win over Brentford while Folarin Balogun’s Arsenal bullied Lynden Gooch and Sunderland.
Brentford 0 – 2 Chelsea
Christian Pulisic came on in the 80th minute in Chelsea’s cup clash away at Brentford, earning the penalty that put the game out of reach for their hosts Brentford.
It was a very lackluster game throughout the opening stages and it took until the 80th minute, after five substitutions, for the deadlock to be broken. Reece James’ ball into the box was deflected in by Brentford defender Pontus Jansson.
Pulisic was at the heart of the go ahead goal as his darting run in the box forced Fernadez off his line and the goalkeeper’s diving attempt to stop the American ended in a penalty. Jorginho stepped up and skipped his way past the Brentford shot stopper in the 85th minute.
Pulisic will look to keep building as Chelsea play Aston Villa on Boxing Day.
Watch the game highlights here:
Arsenal 5 – 1 Sunderland
Lynden Gooch and Folarin Balogun started as Arsenal ran rampant over Sunderland.
Balogun’s opportunities for Arsenal have been sparse since the beginning of the season but showcased his talents well in a very comfortable game where they were always in control.
Arsenal’s young striker Eddie Nketiah scored a hat trick with his opening goal coming in the 17th minute after a saved header only needed nudging over the line with his thigh to open the floodgates.
Nicolas Pepe’s goal in the 27th minute doubled the advantage as he and Cedric outwitted Gooch in a two-on-one, but Sunderland pulled one back through Nathan Broadhead in the 31st minute after a clever finish on a counter attack.
Nketiah added his second just four minutes into the second half after a good play outside just needed a deft finish with the outside of his boot to steer it past the Sunderland goalkeeper. The goalscorer completed his hat trick in the 58th minute in fine fashion as Pepe nutmegged his defender before picking Nketiah out, who backheeled the ball to the back post and in.
The icing on the cake for Arsenal fans was 18 year old Charlie Patino scoring the fifth goal of the night in the 91st minute. Sunderlands cup run ends while Balogun will hope to feature again for Arsenal in the next round.
Sunderland take a trip to Doncaster on Monday the 27th in League One action while Arsenal play Josh Sargent’s Norwich on Boxing Day.
Watch the game highlights here:
Fulham 0 – 1 Sheffield United
Tim Ream and Antonee Robinson went the distance in Fulham’s first Championship defeat of the season.
Fulham had drawn the previous four games, but were handed a shock defeat to then 14th placed Sheffield. The only goal of the game came in the fourth minute as newly selected Fulham goalkeeper Marek Rodak was seemingly easily beaten from a long range shot from Illiman Ndiaye.
Aleksander Mitrovic had a chance to tie it up at the death, but his off-balance shot clattered off the corner and Liverpool loanee Harry Wilson blazed the rebound over the bar.
Fulham will hope to bounce back to winning ways on Monday against Birmingham on Boxing Day.
Watch the highlights here:
