Manchester City’s four-pronged assault on silverware is still on track but they survived a massive scare in the FA Cup when they came back from two down to beat second tier Watford 4-2 in the fourth round on Saturday.
Championship side Watford stunned their hosts by taking a 2-0 lead by halftime but Sergio Aguero wiped off the deficit after the break before Aleksandar Kolarov put City ahead and Aguero completed his hat-trick.
Only European champions Bayern Munich had beaten City at their Etihad fortress this season and Watford had looked like pulling off a remarkable shock with their goals coming from Fernando Forestieri and Troy Deeney.
Liverpool had no such problems as they reached the last-16 with a 2-0 win at second tier Bournemouth – Victor Moses and Daniel Sturridge scoring for the seven-times winners.
Kidderminster, the only survivors from outside England’s top four divisions, battled valiantly at top flight Sunderland but slipped out 1-0 while third tier Southend United were beaten 2-0 at home by Premier League Hull City.
Holders Wigan Athletic, who were relegated to the Championship after beating Man City in last year’s final, kept alive their hopes of an unlikely defence of the trophy with a 2-1 victory over top flight Crystal Palace.
There were also wins for Swansea City at Birmingham City, Cardiff City at Bolton Wanderers and Southampton, who also beat Championship opposition in the form of Yeovil Town.
Results from the English FA Cup 4th Round matches on Saturday January 25th
Birmingham City (II) – Swansea City 1-2 (halftime: 1-0)
Bolton Wanderers (II) – Cardiff City 0-1 (halftime: 0-0)
Huddersfield Town (II) – Charlton Athletic (II) 0-1 (halftime: 0-0)
Manchester City – Watford (II) 4-2 (halftime: 0-2)
Port Vale (III) – Brighton and Hove Albion (II) 1-3 (halftime: 1-2)
Rochdale (IV) – Sheffield Wednesday (II) 1-2 (halftime: 0-0)
Southampton – Yeovil Town (II) 2-0 (halftime: 1-0)
Southend United (IV) – Hull City 0-2 (halftime: 0-0)
Sunderland – Kidderminster Harriers (V) 1-0 (halftime: 1-0)
Wigan Athletic (II) – Crystal Palace 2-1 (halftime: 1-0)
AFC Bournemouth (II) – Liverpool 0-2 (halftime: 0-1)
Friday, January 24
Nottingham Forest (II) – Preston North End (III) 0-0 (halftime: 0-0)
Arsenal – Coventry City (III) 4-0 (halftime: 2-0)
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