🏆 Chelsea cruise past Preston; Villa leave it late; Newcastle win derby | OneFootball

Saturday saw the FA Cup third round get into full swing with eight ties to enjoy.

Here’s what went down.

Chelsea cruise to win over Preston

Scorers: Broja 58′, Silva 66′, Sterling 69′, Enzo 85′

It took Chelsea almost an hour to finally break down the Championship side’s rigid defensive blockage but when they did, the floodgates opened.

A sweetly placed cross from Malo Gusto was met by Broja who sent a deft header past Freddie Woodman into the far corner making it 1-0.

The hosts then made it 2-0 just eight minutes later when Thiago Silva headed home a corner from Cole Palmer at the near post.

Raheem Sterling then joined the party slotting a brilliant freekick into the top left corner past a rooted Woodman in the 69th minute.

Chelsea added a late fourth through Enzo Fernández who tapped hope at the back stick to seal the win.

Villa leave it late against Boro

Scorers: Cash 87′

Aston Villa stole a late winner away at the Riverside Stadium against Middlesborough thanks to a deflected strike from Matty Cash

Middlesborough were defensively stout and it took until the 87th minute for Villa to open the scoring in fortunate fashion.

Matty Cash’s long-range strike took a massive deflection which helped his shot sneak under the arm of Glover into the bottom left corner to progress his side in the cup.

Blades batter Gills

Scorers: Osula 15′ 40′, McAtee 83′ 87′

Gillingham were thoroughly outclassed as Sheffield United won their first away game of the season 4-0.

League Two Gillingham hosted the Blades looking to secure one of the biggest shocks of the round at Priestfield.

But it took the Premier League side just 15 minutes to take the lead as William Osula’s effort crept in.

Osula got his, and United’s, second of the afternoon just before half time as he reacted quickest inside the area and tapped in.

Into the second half and United got their third late on as James McAtee raced in and finished well before he got his second of the game with three minutes remaining.

Cherries hold out for victory

Scorers: Armstrong 40′, Dykes 43′; Tavernier 48′, Moore 58′, Kluivert 69′

Bournemouth won a brilliant game at Loftus Road as they overcame a spirited QPR side 3-2.

This was an intriguing encounter in the capital with Championship QPR taking on the in-form Premier League outfit.

And it was the home side who impressed early on as they heaped pressure on the Cherries backline with two decent efforts in quick succession.

QPR broke the deadlock with five minutes of the half to go as Sinclair Armstrong ran at the Bournemouth defence and finished brilliantly.

The capital club got their second just seconds later as Lyndon Sykes doubled their advantage with a smart finish from the left.

Immediately after the second half Bournemouth pulled one back as Marcus Tavernier’s deflected effort found the back of the net.

The top flight side got themselves level on the hour mark as Kiefer Moore got in front of the goalkeeper and headed in at the near post.

Justin Kluivert came off the bench and got himself on the scoresheet straightaway as he tapped in to give Bournemouth a lead.

João Pedro the star

Scorers: Van Hecke (OG) 16′ Dash (PEN) 68′; Estupinan 45+6′, Dunk 52′, João Pedro 71′

João Pedro was the star of the show as the Brighton striker helped his side secure a 4-2 win over Stoke.

New Stoke boss Steven Schumacher was hoping to start his tenure with a shock win over Brighton.

And they got off to the perfect start as Seagulls defender Jean Paul van Hecke put the ball into his own net.

The Premier League side got themselves level right on the stroke of half time though as Pervis Estupinan struck home from 20 yards out.

After the break Brighton got themselves ahead as Lewis Dunk finished off a smart short corner move.

But the Potters equalised just after the hour mark as Lewis Baker netted from the penalty spot.

This topsy-turvy game took another turn with 20 minutes to go as Brighton re-took the lead with a lovely Joao Pedro header.

Roberto De Zerbi’s side bagged a fourth late on as Joao Pedro finished off a lovely, sweeping counter attack.

Saints keep on winning

Scorers: Fraser 6′ 70′, Mara 58′, Adams 78′

Southampton were far too good for League Two Walsall as Ryan Fraser’s double helped them win 4-0.

Saints needed just six minutes before they took the lead as Ryan Fraser raced in and finished well.

Walsall impressed after the goal but Russell Martin’s side got their second after the break as Sekou Mara netted from close range.

The south coast club put a seal on the win with 20 minutes to go as Fraser bagged his second.

Che Adams got in on the act late on as he finished coolly to net Saints’ fourth of the afternoon.

Isak double ensures safe passage

Scorers: Ballard (OG) 35′, Isak 46′ 90′ (PEN)

A double from Alexander Isak was enough to see Newcastle secure their place in Monday’s FA Cup fourth round draw as they beat Sunderland 3-0.

This was the first Wear-Tyne derby for seven years and arguably the most important since the Second Division play off semi-finals in 1992.

It was clear that the home fans were up for this one with every tackle being cheered like a goal early on.

It was Newcastle who had the first real chance of the game on 20 minutes as Sean Longstaff arrived late in the box but fired his first time shot over the bar.

The Toon then took the lead on 35 minutes as Dan Ballard slotted into his own net after a great run by Joelinton.

Into the second and Newcastle almost immediately doubled their advantage as Alexander Isak capitalised on a defensive mistake and finished well.

Eddie Howe’s side were in almost complete control but the Black Cats did have an opportunity to get one back as Alex Pritchard’s effort grazed the top of the crossbar.

Newcastle rounded off the win with two minutes of normal time to go as Isak scored his second of the afternoon from the penalty spot.

Foxes leave Lions Den

Scorers: Watmore 56′, Flemming 86′; Casadei 16′, Pereira 40′, Cannon 61′

Leicester repeated their league win over Millwall this afternoon as they booked their place in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

Championship leaders Leicester travel to the New Den to take on a south London side who they beat 3-2 at the start of December.

And it took the Foxes just 16 minutes to take the lead as Cesare Casedei leapt highest and headed in at the far post.

Millwall weren’t deterred though and had a handful of chances themselves in the first half only to have their hearts broken just before the break.

Ricardo Pereira made an excellent into the area and finished low into the bottom corner to double Leicester’s lead.

After the break Millwall eventually made the most of their possession by pulling one back through Duncan Watmore.

Enzo Maresca’s men soon restored their two-goal advantage though as Tom Cannon continued his fine goalscoring run with another to add to his recent tally.

The capital club kept things interesting in the final few minutes as Zion Flemming found the back of the net to make it 3-2.

Sunday sees holders Manchester City take on Huddersfield, Wrexham travel to near neighbours Shrewsbury whilst Arsenal take on Liverpool.