FA Cup: Arsenal, Man City, Spurs join United in Round of 16

Arsenal remain on course for a third consecutive FA Cup success after Alexis Sanchez inspired Arsene Wenger’s side to a 2-1 fourth-round win over second-tier Burnley on Saturday.

Manchester City, Tottenham and Manchester United also progressed, but West Bromwich Albion were taken to a replay by third-tier Peterborough United and Bournemouth had to come from behind to beat 2008 FA Cup winners Portsmouth.

Arsenal’s win at the Emirates Stadium preserved their hopes of becoming the first team to win three consecutive FA Cups since Blackburn Rovers, who achieved the feat between 1884 and 1886.

Nigerian Kelechi Iheanacho scored a hat-trick as City kept alive their dream of an unprecedented quadruple of trophies by easing to a 4-0 win at Aston Villa, last season’s beaten finalists.

Iheanacho opened the scoring in the fourth minute, following in to score after Fernando’s header was cleared off the line, and the 19-year-old forward added a second with a 24th-minute penalty.

He completed his hat-trick with 16 minutes remaining, seizing on ex-City defender Micah Richards’s back-pass and surging through to score, before Raheem Sterling completed the scoring.

Under-pressure Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal enjoyed a rare highlight after weeks of gloom when his side comfortably beat Derby County 3-1 on Friday.

Goals from Wayne Rooney, Daley Blind and Juan Mata put the 11-time Cup winners through, with second-tier Derby only briefly threatening a shock when George Thorne equalised shortly before the break at a noisy Pride Park.

First Published: Jan 31, 2016 09:52 IST