Sunderland (England), Jan 7 – Newcastle United won the Tyne-Wear derby for the first time in 13 years with a 3-0 victory away at Sunderland on a packed day of FA Cup third round action.
A Dan Ballard own goal and two second-half Alexander Isak strikes silenced a raucous Stadium of Light on Saturday night and earned the Magpies a fourth-round berth for the first time since 2020.
It was a good day for Premier League teams, with all six avoiding defeat to lower league opposition. Eight-time winners Chelsea had to be patient but eventually strolled into the fourth round with a 4-0 win against Preston North End at Stamford Bridge.
The two teams were level at half-time but striker Armando Broja broke the deadlock with an excellent header from Malo Gusto’s cross, before Thiago Silva, Raheem Sterling and Enzo Fernandez sealed the win.
Elsewhere, Joao Pedro scored twice in the second half as Brighton & Hove Albion eventually saw off plucky Stoke City 4-2, while AFC Bournemouth bounced back from 2-0 down to beat QPR 3-2 at Loftus Road.
Premier League strugglers Sheffield United made light work of a potential banana skin at League Two Gillingham as William Osula scored twice in the first half to help them to a 4-0 win, while Aston Villa ended a run of eight FA Cup third round defeats with a 1-0 at Middlesbrough courtesy of a late Matty Cash strike.
In other notable results, 2021 champions Leicester City beat Millwall 3-2, Coventry City eased past Oxford United 6-2, and Blackburn Rovers despatched Cambridge United 5-2 thanks to a Sammie Szmodics hat-trick.
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