B OURNEMOUTH SHOWS DETERMINATION
Bournemouth won 2-0 at Everton's Goodison Park, thanks to first-half goals from Antoine Semenyo and Daniel Jebbison. It was a victory that balanced efficiency and beauty. Bournemouth had both elements, not to mention they showed clear determination: playing to go far in a match that not every team takes seriously. Not one of the 57 teams to have played in the FA Cup final or won it, if Bournemouth reached the podium this season, it would not only be their fans who would celebrate, but it would be a common victory for the world's oldest football tournament.
Financially, the FA Cup winner's prize is just £2m. If Bournemouth maintain their current 7th place in the Premier League, they will have £40m. It is not difficult to deduce which battle is more important. Depending on each team's individual circumstances, one must also consider whether to go all out in the FA Cup versus the goal of staying in the league or qualifying for next season's European Cups. Due to their overwhelming superiority in terms of force, the Premier League giants do not ignore the glory of the FA Cup, but they only really fight when they reach the final rounds. This is only round 4 (with 32 teams left). Playing with such a high level of concentration and determination as Bournemouth did in their win over Everton is commendable.
Chelsea (right) lost to Brighton
Apart from Bournemouth, Newcastle are the team that will be quietly looking for FA Cup glory this season. It has been 70 years since Newcastle last won a domestic trophy (that was the FA Cup in 1955). They have also reached the League Cup final (against Liverpool on 16 March). In the FA Cup, Newcastle made nine substitutions from their starting line-up and conceded in the first minute, but came from behind to win 3-2 against third-tier Birmingham.
STRANGE C HELSEA
When they met Brighton in the Premier League earlier this season, Chelsea won 4-2, with Cole Palmer scoring all four goals in just 20 minutes in the first half. Now, both Palmer and the remaining key figure in Chelsea's attack, Christopher Nkunku, were completely neutralized (Nkunku did not shoot a single shot throughout the match). Chelsea's strange trait since Christmas 2024 has not changed: they specialize in losing on the back of the net.
In the Premier League, Chelsea opened the scoring against Fulham, Crystal Palace, Bournemouth, Man.City, but in the end only earned 2 points in those 4 matches. Now, Chelsea was lucky to score the opening goal (Brighton goalkeeper scored an own goal) in the 5th minute, but still lost 1-2. It should also be mentioned that Brighton just lost 0-7 to Nottingham Forest in the Premier League a few days ago!
City giants struggled to beat third-tier Leyton Orient 2-1, but at a high price. Midfielder Nico Gonzalez, who arrived for £50m in the mid-season transfer window, was forced off after 22 minutes with an injury on his City debut. Rodri's injury absence has been widely seen as a major factor in City's poor season, and Gonzalez is expected to be a successful replacement.
Another new signing who has just made his debut for another Manchester club is Patrick Dorgu at MU. At right-back (this is a surprising detail, because people expected Dorgu to play left-back), the player from Lecce played quite well, coordinated well with Amad Diallo and actively attacked. MU beat Leicester 2-1, with the decisive goal scored in the extra minutes. The only surprise in this round was the second-tier Burnley team beating Premier League team Southampton 1-0.
Arsenal were eliminated by MU in the previous round. Chelsea were eliminated by Brighton as mentioned above. Of the 10 teams in the top half of the Premier League, Liverpool, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa played late. The remaining teams have all reached the 5th round.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/cup-fa-chelsea-voi-van-den-thua-nguoc-185250209214320657.htm
Comment (0)