Man City whip Chelsea in FA Cup

LONDON, England (AP):

Different competition, same outcome. Manchester City beat Chelsea for the second time in less than three days, on this occasion in the FA Cup.

And this time it was a 4-0 thrashing, without even needing Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne.

City’s top-two players were given a rest after the 1-0 win over Chelsea in the Premier League on Thursday, yet they weren’t especially missed, with Riyad Mahrez, Julián Álvarez and Phil Foden scoring first-half goals and Mahrez adding another late on in a third-round cruise.

Next up for City in world football’s oldest knock-out competition are rivals that are likely to be their biggest threats to the defence of the Premier League title. Arsenal, who lead second-place City by five points in the league, will be heading to Etihad Stadium in the fourth round if they beat third-tier Oxford United today.

Mahrez scored the only goal in the teams’ league match at Stamford Bridge on Thursday. While that was a tap-in, this one in the cup was a curling shot from a direct free kick that sailed into the top corner in the 23rd minute.

Álvarez, making his first start for City since winning the World Cup with Argentina, converted a 30th-minute penalty after Chelsea forward Kai Havertz bizarrely chose to lead with his left arm as he attempted a headed clearance at a corner and succeeded only in punching the ball away to concede a spot kick.

Foden capped a three-goal flurry in a 15-minute span at the Etihad when he guided home a close-range finish at the end of a flowing team move involving Rodri, Mahrez and then Kyle Walker, who sprinted upfield to deliver a cross for Foden.

Mahrez scored his second from the penalty spot in the 85th after Foden was bundled over by Kalidou Koulibaly.

The problems mount for Chelsea manager Graham Potter, whose injury-hit squad is in 10th place in the Premier League and is already out of both cups — having already lost to City in the League Cup in November.

It was the first time since 1998 that Chelsea exited the FA Cup in the third round.

VILLA SHOCKED

Aston Villa conceded twice from the 88th minute and were beaten 2-1 at home by fourth-tier Stevenage in probably the biggest shock of the third round.

Ahead thanks to Morgan Sanson’s 33rd-minute goal, Villa were reduced to 10 men when Leander Dendoncker was red-carded in the 85th for a professional foul that gave Stevenage a penalty.

That was converted and the visitors, who are in second place in League Two, grabbed an unlikely winner in the 90th.

Villa have been eliminated at the third-round stage — when teams from the top-two leagues enter the competition — in each of the last seven seasons. They have lost eight straight FA Cup matches since 2016.

Other results: Bristol City 1 Swansea 1; Derby 3 Barnsley 0: Cardiff 2 Leeds 2; Hartlepool 0 Stoke 3; Norwich 0 Blackburn 1; Stockport 1 Walsall 2.