Rooney inspires Derby to FA Cup shock

Marshalled by Wayne Rooney in his deep-lying midfield role, second-tier Derby County caused the biggest shock yesterday in the FA Cup by eliminating top-flight team Crystal Palace with a 1-0 away win.

Tottenham, meanwhile, had to come back from a goal down to draw 1-1 at second-tier Middlesbrough in the latest below-par display by Jose Mourinho’s side.

Chelsea advanced to the fourth round by beating Nottingham Forest 2-0, while Sheffield United ended up only scraping to a 2-1 win over AFC Fylde, which were the last non-league team remaining in the competition.

Rooney, the former Manchester United and England captain, again played the full 90 minutes in his second game for Derby since his return to English football after a spell in the United States with DC United.

On Thursday, he had a hand in both of Derby’s goals in a 2-1 win over Barnsley in England’s second-tier League Championship and, three days on, the 34-year-old Rooney played with authority in central midfield in the victory over Palace that was secured by Chris Martin’s 32nd-minute goal.

Palace were reduced to 10 men after falling behind, with captain Luka Milivojevic sent off after a scuffle with Derby midfielder Tom Huddlestone. Referee Michael Oliver used a pitchside monitor to check the incident before brandishing the red card.

Lucas Moura headed in Tottenham’s equaliser in the 61st to rescue Tottenham, which were poor in the first half against Middlesbrough and fell behind to Ashley Fletcher’s goal in the 50th.

Tottenham have only won one of their last five games under Mourinho after he made a strong start to his tenure at the London club.

Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ross Barkley scored Chelsea’s goals at Stamford Bridge in a repeat of the scoreline between the teams in the same round last year.