Chelsea and Liverpool progress to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup

(Football news) Chelsea came twice from behind to record a 3-2 fifth-round victory over Luton Town at Kenilworth Road. Roman Abramovich announced his intention to sell Chelsea FC an hour before kick off and it may have had an effect on his side as they conceded a goal just 102 seconds through Reece Burke's glancing header. The London based side slowly grew into the game and drew level when Saul Niguez curled home a fantastic equaliser in the 27th minute but Luton pulled a goal back through Harry Cornick five minutes before the first half concluded.

Tuchel’s team talk proved to be effective as Timo Werner made it 2-2 for Chelsea in the 68th minute after which Romelu Lukaku scored the winner in the 78th minute to book a place in the last 8 of the FA Cup. Speaking after the match, Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel said "It was difficult in terms of the circumstances, a huge difference, you come from Wembley, the Carabao Cup final on Sunday, and then we gave the players a well-deserved day off. Then you have one day to turn around your mind in a new challenge.

"We also had a lot of players out so more or less no more defensive players, and a completely new set-up and competition. There was some noise today around the club of course, so it was not so easy to focus but we did very well, I think. We conceded straight away but we had big chances to equalise, then go ahead. Then we conceded another one, the second half we stepped up and we pushed and were relentless but never impatient and we deserved to win. So full credit, we did not over-expect from us, and we played a very humble match, very seriously."

Liverpool progressed to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup for the first time under Jurgen Klopp as the Reds defeated Norwich City 2-1 at Anfield thanks to a brace by Takumi Minamino. Klopp made 10 changes to the side that defeated Chelsea at Wembley on Sunday but the makeshift lineup did not disappoint the German as they went on to secure their fourth victory over the Canaries this season. Norwich City did score a consolation goal through Joe Gomez with 13 minutes to play but it was too little too late as Liverpool remained on course for a possible quadruple. 

Speaking after the match, Jurgen Klopp said “He's an incredible player” referring to Takumi Minamino. "[This was] the best game he's had for us. He played a super game, was a constant threat, kept all the balls… I'm really happy for him. Without him we wouldn't be in the quarter-finals. Without him we wouldn't have been in the final of the Carabao Cup." Liverpool will face West Ham at Anfield in their next Premier League match and will hope to catch up to league leaders Manchester City while Norwich City will take on Brentford on the same day.

Also read: Azpilicueta and Christensen on the verge of joining Barcelona

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