FA Cup Review: Liverpool´s youngsters held as Chelsea, Spurs and Boro progress

FA Cup third-round weekend continued with five matches on Sunday – and not all of them went as expected.

LIVERPOOL’S YOUNGSTERS HELD TO SHOCK DRAW

Liverpool named the youngest team in their history as they were held to a 0-0 draw by fourth-tier side Plymouth Argyle at Anfield.

A line-up with 10 changes from their last match – a Premier League draw at Sunderland – only registered four shots on target despite dominating possession and racking up 28 attempts against their League Two opponents.

Roberto Firmino, Adam Lallana and Daniel Sturridge were all brought on in the second half, but Jurgen Klopp’s reshuffle did not provide the spark he was hoping for.

An upset was never really on the cards, though, with few fireworks in the match and Plymouth rarely venturing forward as the visitors happily accepted a replay.

CHELSEA AND SPURS AVOID CUP UPSETS

Chelsea saw captain John Terry sent off on his first start since October, but that did not prevent them from cruising to a 4-1 victory over League One outfit Peterborough United at Stamford Bridge.

Pedro did the damage with two goals, opening the scoring from a rebound before later scoring his side’s fourth with a cool finish.

He could have had a hat-trick had he not struck the crossbar from a glorious chance after his opener, which came before Michy Batshuayi scored with a powerful strike and Willian grabbed Chelsea’s third.

Terry was sent off for a foul on Lee Angol, with the Blues confirming after the match they will appeal the decision, which preceded Tom Nichols’ consolation goal for the visitors.

11 – Pedro has been directly involved in more goals this season than the whole of last season for Chelsea (5 goals, 6 assists). Improved.

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 8, 2017

Tottenham left it late against Aston Villa at White Hart Lane, but ultimately scored twice in the final 19 minutes to claim a 2-0 victory.

Mauricio Pochettino made nine changes to the Tottenham side that beat Premier League leaders Chelsea last weekend and the hosts struggled for goalscoring opportunities for long periods.

But Ben Davies netted his first Tottenham goal on his 69th appearance with a clever header.

And Son Heung-min made sure of the win when he fired in from 12 yards after 80 minutes, Moussa Sissoko setting up him with his third assist in five home appearances.

BORO AND FULHAM SEAL PROGRESS

Middlesbrough cruised into the next round with a 3-0 victory over Sheffield Wednesday, despite playing the majority of the second half with 10 men.

Daniel Ayala was sent off within a minute of Grant Leadbitter’s 58th-minute free-kick, which put Boro in the lead.

But Aitor Karanka’s men progressed, with Alvaro Negredo charging down goalkeeper Joe Wildsmith’s dreadful attempted clearance to score, before Marten de Roon netted with a powerful stoppage-time effort.

Fulham also booked their place in round four, winning 2-1 at fellow Championship side Cardiff City, 16-year-old Ryan Sessegnon scoring the decisive goal after Stefan Johansen had cancelled out Anthony Pilkington’s opener.