Chelsea suffers a series of unfortunate defeats.

BOURNEMOUTH SHOWS DETERMINATION

At Everton's Goodison Park, Bournemouth secured an easy 2-0 victory, thanks to first-half goals from Antoine Semenyo and Daniel Jebbison. It was a win that showcased a harmonious blend of efficiency and beautiful play. Bournemouth possessed both elements, not to mention their clear determination: to go far in this competition, which not every team takes seriously. While not one of the 57 teams to have ever reached the FA Cup final or won it, a victory for Bournemouth this season would not only be celebrated by their fans, but would also be a triumph for the world's oldest football competition.

Financially, the FA Cup winner receives only £2 million. If Bournemouth maintain their current 7th place in the Premier League, they will have £40 million. It's not difficult to deduce which competition is more important. Depending on each team's circumstances, they must also consider whether to focus their efforts on the FA Cup versus their goals of avoiding relegation or securing a place in next season's European competitions. Due to their overwhelming superiority in terms of squad strength, the Premier League giants also don't overlook the glory of the FA Cup, but they only truly fight hard when they reach the final rounds. This is only the 4th round (with 32 teams remaining). The level of focus and determination shown by Bournemouth in their win against Everton is highly commendable.

Chelsea (right) suffered a comeback defeat against Brighton.

Besides Bournemouth, Newcastle is another team quietly seeking glory in the FA Cup this season. It has been 70 years since Newcastle last won a domestic trophy (the FA Cup in 1955). They have also reached the League Cup final (against Liverpool on March 16th). In the FA Cup, Newcastle made nine changes to their starting lineup and conceded a goal in the first minute, but against a third-division side, Birmingham, they came back to win 3-2.

STRANGE C HELSEA

When Chelsea faced Brighton in the Premier League earlier in the season, they won 4-2, with Cole Palmer scoring all four goals within 20 minutes of the first half. Now, both Palmer and Chelsea's other key striker, Christopher Nkunku, are completely neutralized (Nkunku didn't manage a single shot throughout the entire match). A strange characteristic of Chelsea since Christmas 2024 remains unchanged: they frequently lose after coming from behind.

In the Premier League, Chelsea opened the scoring against Fulham, Crystal Palace, Bournemouth, and Man City, but ultimately only managed to earn 2 points in those 4 matches. Now, Chelsea were fortunate to score the opening goal (a Brighton goalkeeper own-goal) in the 5th minute, but still lost 1-2. It's also worth mentioning that Brighton just lost 0-7 to Nottingham Forest in the Premier League a few days ago!

Manchester City struggled to beat third-division side Leyton Orient 2-1, but at a high price. Midfielder Nico Gonzalez, who arrived for £50 million in the mid-season transfer window, was forced off after just 22 minutes due to injury in his Man City debut. Rodri's injury absence is widely seen as a major reason for Man City's slump this season, and Gonzalez was expected to be a successful replacement for Rodri.

Another new signing also made his debut for another Manchester team, Patrick Dorgu. Playing at right-back (this was a surprising detail, as people expected Dorgu to play left-back), the player from Lecce played quite well, combining well with Amad Diallo and actively attacking. MU came from behind to beat Leicester 2-1, with the winning goal scored in injury time. The only surprise of this round was second-division side Burnley beating Premier League side Southampton 1-0.

Arsenal were eliminated by Manchester United in the previous round. Chelsea were eliminated by Brighton as mentioned above. Of the top 10 teams in the Premier League, Liverpool, Nottingham Forest, and Aston Villa played later. The remaining teams all qualified for Round 5.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/cup-fa-chelsea-voi-van-den-thua-nguoc-185250209214320657.htm