Trent Alexander-Arnold's stunning strike lit up Liverpool's 4-0 win over Accrington Stanley to cruise into the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday as Chelsea thrashed Morecambe 5-0.
Brentford were the only Premier League side to fall to lower league opposition as Plymouth, who sit bottom of the Championship, stunned the Bees 1-0 thanks to Morgan Whittaker's late winner. There was never any hint of an upset at Anfield despite Arne Slot making eight changes for Liverpool. Alexander-Arnold was named captain in the absence of Virgil van Dijk and led by example after being criticised for his display in a 2-2 draw against Manchester United last weekend.
Diogo Jota was left with a simple task to tap in from Darwin Nunez's low cross to open the floodgates. Alexander-Arnold then stepped forward to double the lead with a sumptuous hit into the top corner from outside the box. Jayden Danns made the most of just his second appearance of the season to fire in the third 14 minutes from time. Federico Chiesa's Liverpool career has so far failed to get going due to injury problems.
But the Italian took advantage of some rare game time to net his first goal for the club with a long-range strike off the far post. "It is definitely a good first step, but as much as I liked the way Accrington Stanley played we have to take into consideration that we're talking about League Two level," said Slot on Chiesa's second-half cameo off the bench. "It is good to have him back on the pitch. He was a threat, but let's not get carried away."
Joao Felix was the star of the show for Chelsea as he got a rare chance to deputise for Cole Palmer. The Portuguese international and Tosin Adarabioyo both scored twice, while Christopher Nkunku made up for missing an early penalty by netting his 13th goal of the season. Only Liverpool have taken more points at home than Brentford in the Premier League this season, while Plymouth had not won away from home all campaign.