The big six of English football have won an impressive 65 FA Cup trophies between them. Indeed, they are the top six sides in terms of FA Cup triumphs, although Aston Villa have seven wins, which is the same as Manchester City (but City have made more finals). So how did these illustrious sides fare in the 2025/26 FA Cup third round when they swooped into the competition over the weekend?
It’s fair to say performances and results among the big six were mixed. We’ll start with the best of the bunch, as Man City scored for fun. Then we’ll work backwards in terms of how impressive the sides’ performances were.
Manchester City 10-1 Exeter City – One-Way Traffic at the Etihad
Manchester City have fewer FA Cup trophies than any of the other big six sides, with “just” seven (compared to eight apiece for Spurs, Liverpool, and Chelsea, 14 for Man United, and 14 for Arsenal). On the evidence of this performance, however, Pep Guardiola’s side are serious about adding another trophy to the cabinet. Things could barely have gone better as the Cityzens destroyed League One side Exeter City. There were nine different scorers for City, with debutant Antoine Semenyo scoring and providing an assist after his recent move from Bournemouth. Travelling Exeter fans could at least cheer a goal from their side, but this one was only ever going to go the way of Pep’s side.
Charlton Athletic 1-5 Chelsea – Great Start for New Boss Rosenior
Liam Rosenior certainly enjoyed his first game in charge of Chelsea as he guided his side to an impressive 5-1 FA Cup win at Charlton. Coming off the back of a 2-1 Premier League defeat to Fulham (which Rosenior observed from the stands), Chelsea looked far more energetic against Charlton, who are currently 19th in the Championship. Having said that, it took the Blues a little while to get going at The Valley, and the travelling fans had to wait until first-half injury time for their side to break the deadlock, Jorrel Hato smashing in from 12 yards.
After the break, Chelsea asserted themselves and soon added a second, Tosin Adarabioyo glancing in from a whipped free kick. The home side got one back soon after, but Chelsea effectively put the tie to bed when 20-year-old Marc Guiu dispatched a rebound to make it 3-1. The Blues were in control from then onwards, but added icing to the cake with two injury-time goals to give Rosenior a very positive start to his managerial career at the club. Chelsea travel to Hull City in the fourth round.
Portsmouth 1-4 Arsenal – Martinelli Hat-Trick Sinks Pompey
Championship strugglers Portsmouth would have needed to play out of their skins, and Arsenal would have needed to have been decidedly off-colour, for this to have gone the way of the home side. As it was, the Gunners did what they have done so often this season: controlled the game and did more than enough to win. Having said that, a shock looked a real possibility after just three minutes when Portsmouth took the lead through Colby Bishop, who turned the ball into the net after a Kepa save.
The home side’s lead lasted barely five minutes, however, as the Gunners forced in a scrappy equaliser after a corner. It was a corner that did the damage for Mikel Arteta’s men in the 25th minute, too. This time, Martinelli’s deft glancing header was unstoppable. After an appalling penalty miss by Noni Madueke, Brazilian Martinelli scored his second goal (and Arsenal’s third) in the 51st minute. He slid the ball into the net after a driven cross from Gabriel Jesus, and that essentially ended the tie as a contest. He completed his first senior hat-trick in the 72nd minute with a goal that was almost a carbon copy of his first. All in all, a very good day at the office for the Brazilian and his club. Arsenal will host Wigan at the Emirates in the next round.
Liverpool 4-1 Barnsley – No Repeat of 2008 Cupset
There was some welcome respite for Arne Slot and his Liverpool side on Monday evening as they cruised past League One side Barnsley at Anfield. This competition could be Liverpool’s best chance of silverware this season, and they certainly looked up for it in front of an exuberant crowd. The visitors had their chances early on, but Liverpool raced to a 2-0 lead after 36 minutes. Barnsley got themselves back into it, however, after an awful mistake from Dominik Szoboszlai in front of his own goal. But then Slot’s men took control of the tie and added two late goals to send Barnsley crashing out. Liverpool will host Brighton in the next round.
Tottenham Hotspur 1-2 Aston Villa – Under-Fire Frank Under More Pressure
Another week, another disappointing result for Spurs. Currently 14th in the Premier League table, Thomas Frank’s men were not appalling against Villa, but they didn’t have quite enough to compete. The visitors scored two first-half goals, through Emi Buendia and Morgan Rogers, leaving Spurs fans frustrated. The home side gave a decent enough account of themselves in the second period and pulled one back through Wilson Odobert in the 54th minute. But Frank’s men couldn’t find an equaliser, and they must now look to the Champions League for any hope of silverware this term… and Spurs winning that would be a minor miracle.
Manchester United 1-2 Brighton – Welbeck Returns to Haunt Red Devils
Finally, Manchester United’s season to forget continued as they went down 2-1 at home to Brighton. The defeat means United will play fewer competitive games this season than at any time since the First World War (having also exited the League Cup at the first hurdle). The fact that former fan favourite Danny Welbeck scored the winner for the visitors will have hurt the Old Trafford faithful, but they will be eager to turn the page and hope for better when Michael Carrick takes over as caretaker boss.
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