Manchester United and Liverpool set up an FA quarter-final showdown after they claimed narrow wins over Nottingham Forest and Southampton respectively.
United were heading for extra-time at the City Ground before Casemiro secured a precious victory for Erik ten Hag’s team in the 89th minute.
A free kick by Bruno Fernandes was flicked home by the Brazilian to break the deadlock with the goal eventually given after a lengthy VAR check, which deemed the offside Raphael Varane had not interfered with play.
It was Casemiro’s first goal since September and helped United bounce back from Saturday’s loss to Fulham to clinch a home tie in the last-eight against rivals Liverpool.
The FA Cup draw had been made prior to the evening’s four kick-offs and Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool youngsters again made the most of their opportunity with an excellent 3-0 triumph over Southampton.
Liverpool, fresh from their Carabao Cup final win over Chelsea, boasted a number of academy graduates in their starting line-up and Lewis Koumas, son of former Wales international Jason, opened the scoring with a deflected effort in the 44th minute.
It was Koumas’ full debut and he marked it with a goal after he collected a pass from fellow youngster Bobby Clark before his low effort was deflected in off Jack Stephens.
Southampton had squandered a number of promising openings before that point and Klopp turned to his bench to seal the victory.
With no Mohamad Salah or Darwin Nunez, Jayden Danns got the nod and produced a superb two-goal cameo.
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Danns’ first was a sumptuous chip after Harvey Elliott’s through ball with 17 minutes left before he wrapped up the victory when he tapped home after Conor Bradley had been denied.
Chelsea were desperate for a response after their Wembley disappointment and Pochettino’s team selection raised eyebrows with Cole Palmer and Gallagher dropped to the bench, but the latter was able to fire his team into the last eight with a last-gasp winner.
The night started disastrously for the hosts when Moises Caicedo lost possession inside his own area after Axel Disasi’s risky pass and young forward Mateo Joseph fired beyond Robert Sanchez with eight minutes played at Stamford Bridge.
Pochettino’s men were not behind for long with Caicedo releasing Nicolas Jackson, who fired into the bottom corner for his 10th goal of the season after quarter of an hour.
Mykhailo Mudryk completed the first-half turnaround with a smart finish after Raheem Sterling’s cut-back in the 37th minute but Leeds levelled soon after half-time.
Jaidon Anthony cut inside and his floated cross was headed home by Joseph prior to the hour mark to spark jubilant scenes in the away end.
It set up a grandstand finish with chances missed by both sides before Chelsea booked their place in the next round where they will host Leicester.
Wolves set up another all-Midlands tie in the FA Cup with a 1-0 win over Brighton.
Mario Lemina slid home with only two minutes played after Jason Steele fumbled Jean-Ricner Bellegarde’s cross to book Gary O’Neil’s side a quarter-final tie at home to Coventry.
Fiorentina 2-2 Napoli: Kvaratskhelia keeps visitors' slim European hopes alive
Dethroned Italian champions Napoli's hopes of playing European football next season are hanging by a thread after they played out a 2-2 draw at Fiorentina in Serie A on Friday.
Napoli took the lead in the eighth minute through defender Amir Rrahmani, who nodded home a corner by Matteo Politano.
Cristiano Biraghi levelled for Fiorentina in the 40th minute from a free-kick, before M'Bala Nzola put the hosts in front two minutes later when he fired a shot into the bottom corner of the net.
Napoli's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia responded with another stunning free-kick early in the second half to rescue a point for his team.
Eighth-placed Fiorentina, on 54 points and with a game in hand, are five points behind Lazio in seventh.
They can still earn a Europa League spot either by leapfrogging the Rome side or by winning the Europa Conference League final in which they face Greece's Olympiakos on May 29.
Ninth-placed Napoli, on 52 points, still have a slim chance of making the Europa Conference League playoffs.
Data Debrief
Fiorentina left-back Biraghi has now scored six goals from direct free-kicks since the start of 2021-22, which is behind only James Ward-Prowse (seven) - now of West Ham and formerly of Southampton - as the most across Europe's top five leagues in that period.
Kvaratskhelia also levelled via a direct free-kick, making this the first Serie A match in which both teams scored via that route since Fiorentina against Lazio in April 2018 (Jordan Veretout and Luis Alberto in that case).
Southampton 3-1 West Brom (3-1 agg): Saints set up play-off final with Leeds United
Southampton saw off West Brom 3-1 at St Mary's on Friday to set up a Championship play-off final showdown with Leeds United.
Leeds thumped Norwich City 4-0 at Elland Road 24 hours earlier to book their place at Wembley, where Southampton now await on May 26.
The first leg between the Saints and West Brom finished goalless - just like the other semi-final - but the home side's quality told in the end.
Russell Martin's side dominated the first-half possession, with David Brooks going closest to scoring with a shot that hit the outside of the post.
Southampton made the breakthrough via a powerful Will Smallbone finish four minutes into the second half after Gray Diangana lost possession.
Darnell Furlong had a shot helped over by Alex McCarthy, while David Brooks - who assisted the opener - had a strong penalty appeal rejected.
Southampton remained in control, though, and Adam Armstrong scored a second with a shot through Furlong's legs and past Alex Palmer.
Armstrong's second goal arrived from the penalty spot in the 86th minute after Tom Fellows fouled Ryan Manning in the box, rendering Cedric Kipre's late header a mere consolation.
Marc Skinner signs Manchester United Women contract extension
Marc Skinner has signed a one-year contract extension as Manchester United Women head coach with the option of a further 12 months.
The 41-year-old guided United to their first major silverware last weekend with victory over Tottenham in the Women's FA Cup final.
United are fifth in the Women's Super League with one game to go - a massive drop on last term's runners-up finish - but Skinner will stay on.
"It's an honour to extend my stay at Manchester United," Skinner, who was appointed in 2021, told United's official website after the news was confirmed on Friday.
"I've always felt at home here, with our excellent players, staff, and fans.
"Being able to secure the team's first major trophy at Wembley was a real career highlight for me and another sign of our continued growth, on and off the field."
United conclude their campaign on Saturday against Chelsea, who lead Manchester City on goal difference entering the final day.
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