London, March 8 (IANS) Premier League leader Arsenal had to work hard to qualify for the quarterfinals of the FA Cup, edging League One side Mansfield Town 2-1 away in a tight contest.
Mansfield beat Premier League struggler Burnley in the previous round and defended solidly for 40 minutes before Noni Madueke opened the scoring with a neatly placed left-footed shot.
Mansfield brought on Will Evans at halftime, and this proved to be a good move when he equalised in the 50th minute, running onto a loose ball and scoring with his left foot.Mansfield remained very much in the game until Eberechi Eze, on the pitch only a few minutes, sealed the win with a powerful strike into the roof of the net.
Omar Marmoush scored twice as Manchester City also advanced to the last eight after coming back from behind to win 3-1 away to Newcastle United.
Harvey Barnes opened the scoring in the 18th minute before Savinho levelled 21 minutes later.Marmoush put Manchester City ahead from close range two minutes into the second half and nailed the win with a thundering shot from the edge of the Newcastle penalty area with 25 minutes left to play.
Chelsea was taken to extra time by Championship side Wrexham, who twice led before eventually falling 4-2. Sam Smith opened the scoring in the 18th minute, but Chelsea levelled with a stroke of luck just before halftime with an own goal from goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo.
Callum Doyle restored Wrexham’s lead with a clever flick in the 79th minute, raising real hopes of an upset, but Josh Acheampong made it 2-2 almost immediately.
Wrexham was then reduced to 10 men after George Dobson was sent off for a high challenge. Chelsea finally went in front through Alejandro Garnacho in the seventh minute of extra time, and Joao Pedro wrapped up the win in the final minute.
Liverpool was the first team to book a quarterfinal place with a 3-1 win away to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Friday night, which avenged a 2-1 league defeat at Molineux earlier in the week.
–IANS
bc/
