*FOOTBALL NEWS* ⚽⚽⚽ https://chat.whatsapp.com/IcQfpjBULvKFTPgFjfY2iS *Liverpool thrashed by Plymouth, turns FA Cup upside down* *Tottenham's Ange Postecoglou 'disappointed' by FA Cup exit as pressure mounts* *Marcus Rashford makes debut in FA Cup* *Barcelona beat Sevilla despite red; close gap on Real Madrid* *Barcelona decline offer to sign Joao Felix* *Manchester United and Aston Villa were both ready to offer 70m euros (£58.3m) for Barcelona's Fermin Lopez in January, but the 21-year-old Spain forward was not interested in a move* *Arsenal are interested in signing Portugal forward Diogo Jota, with Liverpool willing to sell the 28-year-old for the right fee because of the number of games he has missed with injury* *Atletico Madrid are interested in signing Crystal Palace's 27-year-old France striker Jean-Philippe Mateta, whose deal with the Eagles runs out in 2026* *THE DETAILS* _*Liverpool KO turns FA Cup upside down*_ This weekend, the magic of the FA Cup was akin to the sorcery of an episode of "Stranger Things." It was an Upside Down in which the biggest teams in England's grandest division fell victim to -- or survived narrow escapes -- against seemingly no-hopers from the lower leagues. The FA Cup's fourth round gave us plenty of dramatic highlights and delivered various narratives from across the board. From six-goal thrillers and penalty shootouts in a Championship matchup to absolute bangers that caused mayhem in the stands, there was something for everyone. Let's begin with the struggles from the top of the Premier League table. If Nottingham Forest lose to Exeter City on Tuesday, that will mean the current top four (Liverpool, Arsenal, Forest and Chelsea) of England's top flight will be out of the competition. The Premier League sides that are still in don't look dominant, so there's a chance -- not a great chance but a chance nonetheless -- that a team from the lower leagues could reach the final. It's highly improbable, but never say never. Plymouth Argyle earned a historic victory over Arne Slot's Liverpool, Leyton Orient led against Manchester City for 40 minutes before eventually losing and Tom Brady's Birmingham City fought extremely hard before succumbing to Newcastle United. We'll see if League Two's Doncaster Rovers can create more magic Monday against Crystal Palace. In an all-Premier League affair Sunday, Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio made their Aston Villa debuts as Unai Emery's side won 2-1 against Tottenham Hotspur. Villa are now in the fifth round of the FA Cup for the first time in 10 years. The oldest knockout competition in the world seldom disappoints. Best match: Plymouth Argyle 1-0 Liverpool Plymouth Argyle are at the very bottom of the Championship. They have conceded more goals than any other team in the top four divisions of English football (63), and what did they do Sunday? They won 1-0 against the leaders of the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League. _*Tottenham's Ange Postecoglou 'disappointed' by FA Cup exit as pressure mounts*_ Two cup exits in a three-day span have left Tottenham staring at the prospect of another trophyless season and manager Ange Postecoglou facing perhaps his biggest crisis in his time at the club. A 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Sunday came on the heels of an exit from the Carabao Cup semifinals after a 4-0 second-leg thrashing at Liverpool on Thursday. "Obviously disappointed we don't progress," Postecoglou told the BBC. "It wasn't a great start, that's the last thing you want, and we really struggled to get some control. Then we had an enormous chance at 1-0 we didn't take to equalise. This is an Ignite Media Zimbabwe news production. "We got a better grip of the game but unfortunately fell short. When you go a goal down it gives the opposition momentum and confidence. You want to wrestle control early and we didn't do that." With Tottenham languishing in 14th place in the Premier League, the team's only chance of a first piece of major silverware since 2008 lies in winning the Europa League. Spurs have advanced to the round of 16 of the second-tier European competition. In September, Postecoglou put pressure on himself by saying in an interview: "I don't usually win things, I always win things in my second year [with a team]. Nothing's changed." He was referring to spells at Australian clubs South Melbourne and Brisbane Roar, Japanese side Yokohama F. Marinos, Scottish giants Celtic and also with Australia's national team, which won the Asian Cup in his second year as coach. Postecoglou has only a few months left of his second campaign at Tottenham, where he started so promisingly -- the team was undefeated and top of the Premier League after 10 games of his first season -- but has imploded, leaving question marks over the Australian's style of play. Tottenham have been ravaged by injuries this season as the games came thick and fast in a number of competitions, and at least now has gaps in the schedule for more rest before recovering key players like Cristian Romero, Dominic Solanke and Micky van de Ven. "This group of players has done an unbelievable job for 2 1/2 months. An unbelievable job," Postecoglou told a post-match news conference. "Can't praise them highly enough for the effort they've put in -- a small group of players playing twice a week since the middle of November. _*Marcus Rashford makes debut in FA Cup*_ Manchester United loanee Marcus Rashford made his debut for Aston Villa on Sunday, as they beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 to advance to the fifth round of the FA Cup. Rashford joined Villa on loan just before the close of the January transfer window. He will stay with the Villains until the end of the season having fallen out of favour under Ruben Amorim. The forward hadn’t featured competitively since United’s Europa League trip to Viktoria Plzen on December 12. _*Barcelona beat Sevilla despite red; close gap on Real Madrid*_ Barcelona earned a hard-fought 4-1 win at struggling Sevilla on Sunday thanks to goals by Robert Lewandowski, Fermin Lopez, Raphinha and Eric Garcia to edge them closer to the top of the LaLiga standings. The win lifted third-placed Barca to 48 points, one behind Atletico Madrid in second and two adrift of leaders Real Madrid after the capital rivals drew 1-1 on Saturday. Lewandowski gave Barca the lead from close range in the seventh minute but Ruben Vargas hit right back to equalise for the home side from a quick counter one minute later. Lopez came off the bench and put Barca back in front two minutes after the break and Raphinha extended their lead in the 55th minute with a brilliant strike from outside the box. Five minutes later, Barca were reduced to 10 men after Lopez was shown a straight red card for a studs-up challenge on Djibril Sow, but the visitors held off Sevilla and managed to score their fourth through Eric Garcia's header in the 89th minute. _*Barcelona decline offer to sign Joao Felix*_ Barcelona declined an offer to sign Chelsea's Portugal forward Joao Felix in the January transfer window before the 25-year-old sealed a loan move to AC Milan until the end of the season. sports tit bits: *Manchester United and Aston Villa were both ready to offer 70m euros (£58.3m) for Barcelona's Fermin Lopez in January, but the 21-year-old Spain forward was not interested in a move* *Arsenal are interested in signing Portugal forward Diogo Jota, with Liverpool willing to sell the 28-year-old for the right fee because of the number of games he has missed with injury* *Atletico Madrid are interested in signing Crystal Palace's 27-year-old France striker Jean-Philippe Mateta, whose deal with the Eagles runs out in 2026* .......