FA Cup Awards – Liverpool dumped out, Tomoki’s thunderbolt | OneFootball

Our FA Cup Awards honour the best – and worst – of the weekend’s fourth-round action, featuring Liverpool’s shock exit and Tomoki Iwata’s thunderbolt.

Moment of the Week

If the magic of the FA Cup is about anything, it’s upsets. Plymouth Argyle delivered a classic ‘cupset’ on Sunday as the second-tier strugglers dumped out Liverpool at Home Park.

The Pilgrims are bottom of the Championship and boast the division’s worst defensive record, but a backline bolstered by recent recruits held firm in Devon. Ryan Hardie’s penalty was the difference between the teams, just the fourth time the Premier League leaders have been eliminated by lower league opponents.

Plymouth hero Nikola Katic – protagonist of a memorable post-match interview – racked up a mammoth 17 clearances, while Conor Hazard made stunning late saves to deny Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez.

Liverpool’s quadruple dream is over, while Plymouth enter the draw for round five. The magic of the FA Cup is alive and well.

Player of the Week

Much has been made about how Thomas Tuchel fits Jude Bellingham, Cole Palmer, and Phil Foden into the same England team but it’s time Morgan Rogers entered that dilemma.

The 22-year-old is having an outstanding season at Aston Villa and was was unplayable in the pockets against Spurs. Rogers is a delight to watch with his ability to take possession on the turn and drive powerfully into the final third, with one surging run setting up Jacob Ramsey’s opener inside 59 seconds.

He scored the second of a 2-1 win at Villa Park with an instinctive finish and now has 11 goals and five assists in all competitions. He’s getting better and better in Claret and Blue and is among the most watchable players in English football right now.

Manager of the Week

Miron Muslic can certainly talk the talk but there’s increasing evidence that the Austrian can walk the walk, too.

The 42-year-old replaced Wayne Rooney as Plymouth manager last month with the club struggling at the bottom of the Championship. After taking some time, his team have shown real improvement in recent weeks. A battling draw at promotion chasing Sunderland was followed by a first league win in 16 games against West Brom last weekend.

On Sunday, he led The Pilgrims to one of the most memorable results in their history with a 1-0 win over Liverpool. Recent recruits Maksym Talovierov and Nikola Katic were magnificent defensively, as Plymouth earned – and deserved – their upset of arguably Europe’s best side right now.

With the wind in their sails, Plymouth are not down and out just yet.

Goal of the Week

What a hit.

Birmingham and Newcastle delivered some of the best entertainment of the weekend and Tomoki Iwata certainly crashed in the finest goal.

The Japan midfielder blasted a bouncing ball past Nick Pope for Birmingham’s equaliser, an absolute thunderbolt that even Superman himself might have struggled to keep out.

“Even if Clark Kent is in goal, he’s not saving that,” Former Newcastle goalkeeper Shay Given said.

Save of the Week

A great cup upset often requires hard work, good fortune, and a goalkeeper capable of bailing you out when required. Conor Hazard did just that during Plymouth’s 1-0 win over Liverpool, with this last-gasp stop denying Darwin Nunez a certain goal.

Stat of the Week

Burnley are not the most entertaining team to watch right now but the Clarets are one miserly outfit.

Scott Parker’s side have conceded just nine goals in 31 league games this season and recorded another clean sheet to dump top-flight Southampton out the FA Cup. Incredibly, it’s now 10 clean sheets in their last 11 games across all competitions.

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