Liverpool into FA Cup fifth round as fan violence mars Wolves’ win

Liverpool — Liverpool cruised into the fifth round of the FA Cup with a 5-2 rout of Championship side Norwich City on Sunday, to kick off Juergen Klopp’s long goodbye at Anfield.

Liverpool’s beloved manager announced on Friday that he would leave the Merseyside team at the end of the season, his ninth at the helm.

The eight-times FA Cup winners had goals from Curtis Jones, Darwin Nunez, Dioga Jota, Virgil van Dijk and Ryan Gravenberch.

Liverpool will next play either Watford or Southampton after that fourth-round game earlier on Sunday ended in a 1-1 draw thanks to a last-gasp goal by Southampton’s Stuart Armstrong to force a replay.

Ben Gibson and Borja Sainz scored for Norwich City, who are ninth in the Championship, 28 spots below Premier League leaders Liverpool in England’s football pyramid.

Wolverhampton Wanderers’ 2-0 victory in their fourth-round match at West Bromwich Albion was interrupted for nearly 40 minutes due to clashes involving the two sides’ supporters.

Wolves were leading 2-0 when projectiles were hurled on to one end of the pitch in the 82nd minute, sparking a brawl in a corner at The Hawthorns.

Matheus Cunha and Pedro Neto scored for Wolves, whose manager, Gary O’Neil, called the disturbances “really disappointing”.

“Up until that point it was a good tie with good atmosphere,” O’Neil told ITV afterwards.

“How people behave at football is really important, and we need to look at that, make sure everyone is safe. When we came back out, the atmosphere had gone; it was really sad to see.”

• On Saturday, Sean Longstaff and Dan Burn scored as Newcastle United knocked out Fulham with a 2-0 victory and sixth-tier Maidstone United stunned Championship side Ipswich Town with a 2-1 victory at Portman Road.

Cauley Woodrow netted a last-gasp goal as Luton Town won 2-1 at Everton, and Joao Pedro netted a hat-trick as Brighton & Hove Albion crushed Sheffield United 5-2.

Leicester City knocked out Birmingham City 3-0 with goals by Jamie Vardy, Yunus Akgun and Dennis Praet, while Adam Randell scored the equaliser for Plymouth Argyle to force a replay with Leeds United after a 1-1 draw.

• Holders Manchester City will visit Luton Town in the fifth round of the FA Cup in an all-Premier League clash, while sixth-tier Maidstone United, the lowest-ranked team left in the competition, will travel to either Sheffield Wednesday or Coventry.

The fifth round will be played on February 28 with the final set for May 25 at Wembley.

Fifth-round draw: Blackburn/Wrexham v Newcastle; Chelsea/Aston Villa v Leeds/Plymouth; Bournemouth v Leicester; Liverpool v Watford/Southampton; Bristol City/Nottingham Forest v Newport County/Manchester United; Wolverhampton v Brighton & Hove Albion; Sheffield Wednesday/Coventry v Maidstone United; Luton Town v Manchester City. 

Reuters