Plymouth Argyle belied their position at the bottom of the Championship by beating Brentford in the third round of the FA Cup, as other Premier League teams caused upset on Saturday.
Plymouth sacked Manchester United icon Wayne Rooney on New Year's Eve after sliding to the foot of the second tier and appointing Miron Muslic as his successor.
Muslic was then in the stands at Gtech Community Stadium as Morgan Whittaker's 82nd minute strike led the Pilgrims to a memorable victory.
Whittaker cut inside from the right and evaded several challenges before firing into the bottom left corner to decide a match with few clear chances.
Plymouth goalkeeper Conor Hazard had earlier denied Fabio Carvalho, but Yoane Wissa missed Brentford's best chance to force extra time when he nodded over the crossbar.
T̶h̶e̶ G̶t̶e̶c̶h̶ The Theater of the Greens
Morgan Whittaker's stunning solo strike for @Argyle has knocked Premier League side Brentford out of the FA Cup! #EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/8Co36HkUkb
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) January 11, 2025
Elsewhere, Bournemouth suffered an early scare but eventually got past managerless West Brom, coming from behind to win 5-1 at the Vitality Stadium.
Caleb Taylor put West Brom ahead after 14 minutes, but a goal from Justin Kluivert and two goals from Dango Ouattara had the Cherries in control by half-time.
Antoine Semenyo came off the bench to score a fine fourth, with Daniel Jebbison completing the rout in second-half stoppage time.
There were also plenty of goals at the King Power Stadium, where Leicester City defeated Championship club Queens Park Rangers 6-2.
James Justin scored twice for the relegation-threatened Foxes, who were made 1-1 by Jonathan Varane's long-range curler, but took the lead again through Stephy Mavididi.
Facundo Buonanotte, Jamie Vardy and Wout Faes were also on target for Leicester, with teenager Rayan Kolli briefly raising QPR hopes by making it 3-2 after half-time.
Jamie Vardy has one [birthday] party
A 38th birthday goal for @vardy7 #EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/rL3qFDNiZ6
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) January 11, 2025
Neighbors Nottingham Forest carried their excellent Premier League form into the cup despite being substituted for the draw against Luton Town, beaten 2-0 two days after Rob Edwards' departure.
Ryan Yates and Ramon Sosa scored for Forest, who have now won seven games in a row in all competitions.
Brighton won 4–0 against another second tier side in Norwich City, with Georginio Rutter scoring twice and being joined on the scoresheet by Julio Enciso and Solly March, the latter finding the top left corner for his first goal in more than a year year. .
Earlier on Saturday, Premier League relegation candidates Wolves avoided an upset at Bristol City, with two first-half goals lifting them to a 2-1 win.
Rayan Ait-Nouri stooped to nod in Joao Gomes' cross for an early opener, before Rodrigo Gomes doubled their lead with a dinky finish.
From back to front in no time
Rodrigo Gomes caps off a well-executed @Wolves move #EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/tr7hhtKUsa
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) January 11, 2025
Scott Twine's stunning free-kick halved the deficit before half-time but Wolves held on to secure a place in the fourth round, hitting the woodwork at both ends in the second half.
Rodrigo Gomes and Pablo Sarabia both hit the right post for the visitors, while Ait-Nouri headed against his own crossbar in a late scare for Vitor Pereira's side.
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