FA Cup Fifth Round Review: Port Vale’s Historic Shock, Chelsea’s Six-Goal Thriller & the Quarter-Final Draw
The fifth round delivered everything the FA Cup promises: a League One bottom side reaching the last eight for the first time in 72 years, a six-goal extra-time classic, Premier League giants who needed late drama to survive, and a quarter-final draw that handed us City vs Liverpool. Here’s every result, every story, and every quiz angle.
| Match | Score | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Wolves vs Liverpool | 1–3 | Comfortable |
| Mansfield vs Arsenal | 1–2 | Narrow escape |
| Wrexham vs Chelsea | 2–4 AET | ⚡ Six-goal thriller |
| Newcastle vs Man City | 1–3 | Marmoush brace |
| Fulham vs Southampton | 0–1 | 90+1’ penalty |
| Port Vale vs Sunderland | 1–0 | 🚨 Shock of round |
| Leeds United vs Norwich | 3–0 | Dominant |
| West Ham vs Brentford | 2–2 (5–3 pens) | Shootout drama |
Shock of the round: Port Vale stun Sunderland
The story of the entire round — arguably of the entire 2025–26 Cup — belongs to Port Vale. Bottom of League One. 57 places below Sunderland in the pyramid. A club that hadn’t reached the FA Cup quarter-finals since 1954. And yet New Zealand international Ben Waine — a boyhood Newcastle United fan — headed home from close range in the 28th minute after Sunderland failed to clear a corner, and Vale defended for their lives to produce one of the most remarkable upsets in recent Cup memory.
Waine celebrated with Alan Shearer’s iconic one-armed salute — a boyhood Newcastle fan scoring the winner against Sunderland. Port Vale, who only confirmed their place in the fifth round by beating Championship Bristol City five days earlier, are now the only non-Premier League side remaining in the competition. Their quarter-final reward? A trip to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea. Nobody is writing them off.
Chelsea survive Wrexham’s six-goal thriller
Chelsea were twice behind at the Racecourse Ground and needed extra time to beat ten-man Wrexham 4–2 in a Cup tie that had everything. Wrexham led twice in normal time before Chelsea levelled on both occasions, with Josh Acheampong’s fierce strike making it 2–2 in the 82nd minute and forcing extra time. George Dobson saw red via VAR, and Chelsea finally broke the deadlock in extra time before João Pedro — now the top Premier League scorer in 2026 with 11 goals across all competitions — added a fourth. Chelsea have now progressed from their last 25 FA Cup ties against lower division opposition.
Arsenal and Liverpool navigate tricky ties
Arsenal needed Eberechi Eze’s stunning second-half winner to edge past League One Mansfield 2–1 at Field Mill. Noni Madueke curled into the top corner just before half-time to give the Gunners the lead, but Will Evans equalised five minutes after the restart to send the home crowd into raptures. Eze settled nerves — holding off a challenge before unleashing a fierce drive into the top corner — to book Arsenal’s place in the last eight. Notably, Arsenal became the first Premier League side ever to start a competitive game with two players aged 16 or under, with Max Dowman and 16-year-old Marli Salmon both starting.
Liverpool were more comfortable at Molineux, winning 3–1. Curtis Jones opened the scoring just before half-time after excellent work from Milos Kerkez, before Salah set up Dominik Szoboszlai for the second and then converted from the penalty spot to seal it. Hwang Hee-chan’s late goal was a mere footnote.
City cruise, Southampton steal it late, Leeds dominant
Manchester City came from behind at St James’ Park — Harvey Barnes curled in to give Newcastle an early lead — but Savinho equalised before the break and Omar Marmoush’s second-half brace sealed a 3–1 win. Remarkably, 50% of Marmoush’s City goals (7 of 14) have now come against Newcastle. Southampton broke Fulham hearts when Joachim Andersen fouled Finn Azaz in the box in the first minute of stoppage time and Ross Stewart blasted home from the spot, sending the Saints — wearing a commemorative shirt marking their 1976 triumph — into the last eight. Leeds were the most comfortable of the lot: Longstaff, Gudmundsson and Piroe scoring in a 3–0 win, Leeds’ first quarter-final since 2003. And West Ham edged past Brentford on penalties — Jarrod Bowen scoring twice including a penalty, Igor Thiago netting a brace for Brentford to force extra time, before Dango Ouattara’s botched Panenka proved decisive in a 5–3 shootout.
