(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Published: Sun 29 Jan 2023, 11:44 PM
Holders Liverpool were knocked out of the FA Cup after losing 2-1 at Brighton & Hove Albion in the fourth round on Sunday as Kaoru Mitoma struck a late winner, before fifth-tier Wrexham were held to a thrilling 3-3 draw by 10-man Sheffield United.
In Brighton, Harvey Elliott put Liverpool ahead, Lewis Dunk equalised before halftime and the score stayed at 1-1 until Mitoma found the net in the 92nd minute with a fine finish.
It was the second time that Brighton had defeated Liverpool in two weeks, after they beat Juergen Klopp's side 3-0 in the Premier League.
'Unbelievable ending. Sometimes you've got to win a game like that. We weren't at our best today. Nowhere near it. But we ground it out against a top side and got the win,' captain Dunk told ITV Sport.
'We feel like we can beat anyone on our best days and we showed here we can beat them on our not-so-good days. We've got everything in our squad to keep pushing on and hopefully we can go further in the competition.'
Liverpool's teenage midfielder Elliott had put them ahead in the 30th minute with a low shot into the far corner following a clever pass from Mohamed Salah.
Brighton equalised nine minutes later when Dunk got a flick on a long-range effort from Tariq Lamptey which deflected into the goal, with goalkeeper Alisson Becker wrong-footed.
Elliott, who also scored in Liverpool's win in the third- round replay, could have made it 2-1 before halftime as he latched on to Cody Gakpo's pass but Lamptey made a superb last-ditch tackle.
It was another disappointing result for Liverpool who have struggled with form and injuries this season and are ninth in the Premier League standings.
'This season has been nowhere near good enough. At the start of the year, we wanted a fresh start but that hasn't happened. We've been worse,' Liverpool defender Andy Robertson said.
'In the league, we haven't been good enough and now we're out of both cups,' he added.
Championship (second-tier) side Stoke City progressed to the fifth round after beating fourth-tier Stevenage 3-1 as Jacob Brown scored an early goal followed by a stunning strike from Josh Laurent and a penalty by Lewis Baker.
Wrexham, owned by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, were on the verge of recording an upset win over Championship club Sheffield United before John Egan scored from a corner in the 95th minute to force a replay.