by Casemiro scored twice as Manchester United powered up the style to beat 10-man Reading 3-1 to reach the FA Cup fifth round on Saturday as Tottenham striker Son Heung-min ended his recent goal drought.
A day without major shocks saw victories for Premier League contenders Leeds, Leicester and Southampton, but Fulham were held by Championship side Sunderland.
Erik ten Hag’s United took the lead in the 54th minute when Anthony produced a defensive pass to find Brazil teammate Casemiro, who lifted the ball over goalkeeper Joe Lumley.
Four minutes later, United were up by two when Casemiro fired from outside the box with a stunning shot to find the bottom corner.
With the home side confident, substitute Fred produced a daring flick from Bruno Fernandes’ low cross to the near post.
Reading ahead, Andy Carroll was shown a second yellow card in the 65th minute, but Paul Ince’s side still managed to pull away a few minutes later when substitute Amadou Mbengue headed home from a corner.
Harry Kane was on the bench for Spurs’ game at Deepdale meaning he missed out on the chance to become Tottenham’s all-time top goalscorer.
In the absence of the England captain, Son emerged with two fine finishes for a much-needed confidence boost.
The South Korean, who shared the Premier League’s Golden Boot last season, had scored just once in his previous 17 appearances for club and country.
But the 30-year-old brought the tie to life in the fourth round after a lackluster first half with a luscious curling attack with his left foot and he killed the tie 21 minutes from time by spinning his marker and firing high past Freddie Woodman.
Horace Danjuma then marked his debut for Tottenham with a goal as his scraped finish from Dejan Kulusevski’s cross found the bottom corner.
– Trust Son –
“I needed those goals for my confidence,” Son told the BBC.
“It was very important. It was the kind of position where I like to shoot. In the first half I had a few chances to shoot, but the keeper made good saves.
“As a striker or as a forward, the most important thing is that you score that goal. It is important that I can help the team to the next round. I am very, very happy.”
Leeds progressed to the fifth round for the first time since 2016 by beating Accrington Stanley 3-1.
Jack Harrison’s stunning long-range strike calmed the visitors’ nerves against the League One side at the Crown Ground.
Patrick Bamford’s brilliant reverse pass saw Junior Firpo double the visitors’ lead in the 66th minute and Luis Sinisterra tapped in Harrison’s cross to end the tie as a match.
Leicester were made to sweat by fourth division side Walsall but were saved by FA Cup specialist Kelechi Iheanacho in a 1-0 win.
The Nigerian has scored more goals in the league than any other player since his debut in 2016.
Iheanacho enjoyed a dose of fortune scoring his 17th goal in 23 FA Cup appearances when his second-half attack from the edge of the penalty area suffered a poor deflection.
Full-back Romain Perraud scored twice as Southampton deflected a late rally from Blackpool to draw 2-1.
Fulham were the only Premier League side to fail to win on Saturday after being held 1-1 by Sunderland at Craven Cottage.
Four other ties must be replayed to find a winner, including Championship leader Burnley’s duel with Ipswich after a 0–0 draw at Portman Road.
Manchester City were the first team in round five after beating Arsenal 1-0 in a Premier League top two game on Friday.
Liverpool travel to Brighton in Sunday’s tie.
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