Manchester United will face Tottenham while Chelsea take on Southampton in the semi-finals of the FA Cup.
Jose Mourinho’s United, 2-0 winners over Brighton in their quarter-final on Saturday, meet Spurs, who will be using the away team’s dressing room at their temporary Wembley home.
Tottenham got through courtesy of two Christian Eriksen goals in a 3-0 win over Swansea.
Chelsea, who beat Leicester after extra time in their quarter-final moments before the draw was made, face Premier League strugglers Southampton.
That match will see new Saints boss Mark Hughes take on one of his former clubs.
Southampton won 2-0 at League One Wigan on Sunday in Hughes’ first game in charge
The semi-finals will take place over the weekend of April 21-22.
(Reuters) - Newly-appointed manager Mark Hughes has made a positive impact at Southampton and could be the right man to reinvigorate the struggling Premier League club, midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has said.
Hughes, who was named as Argentine Mauricio Pellegrino’s replacement last week, took charge of his first game as Southampton beat Wigan Athletic 2-0 in the FA Cup quarter-finals on Sunday.
“I think I speak on everyone’s behalf when it’s been positive and he has given energy and good vibes, a new fresh start,” Hojbjerg is quoted as saying by the Daily Echo.
“He worked a lot on intensity and the discipline and desire to take the extra meters, to do what we have to do as a team and an individual in our own position and the basics.
“Like we have said many times we have a really good team, some really good players, and maybe this is the perfect fit. Nothing is perfect in this world but this is a good start.”
The former Stoke City boss has a tougher task on his hands in the league, where Southampton are two points adrift of safety in 18th position with eight games left to play but Hojbjerg is focusing on the positives.
“This is nice, a great feeling and also football. One week ago the world went down and today we are in the semi-final of the FA Cup,” Hojbjerg added.
“This of course doesn’t change the standing on the league but let’s focus on this and smile about the semi-final.
“After defeat you always want to hit back even harder and I think we did that today.”
Hughes will take charge of his first league game when Southampton travel to 17th-placed West Ham United on March 31 before their FA Cup semi-final tie against Chelsea next month.
A total of 4,344 supporters made the long journey north in treacherous conditions, and were rewarded with a 2-0 victory over the League One side, who had already toppled a trio of Premier League clubs including Man City.
New boss Hughes, celebrating his first game in charge, vowed that togetherness will serve Saints well in a crucial last two months of the season, in both league and cup.
“The Saints fans have come out in huge numbers and the support we had was magnificent,” said the manager.
“We thank each and every one of them, because it’s clearly not been an easy period for anybody with allegiances to Southampton FC.
“I like to think this was a reflection of what this group can do for them – we just need their support from now until the end of the season.
“If we get that, which I’m sure we will on the evidence of today, and everybody’s in it together, we will be fine.”
WATCH and VOTE: Goals of the round in the Premier League
Mohamed Salah, Cenk Tosun and Junior Stanislas feature in the Premier League goals of the round, but which was your favourite?
Salah, who is now four clear in the Premier League golden boot race with 28 goals, sent Liverpool on their way to a 5-0 win over Liverpool with a fine individual strike for the first of his four goals. That’s included as is Roberto Firmino’s clever flick finish from the same game.
Both of Tosun’s goals in Everton’s 2-1 win at Stoke feature as do strikes from Bournemouth’s Stanislas and West Brom’s Jay Rodriguez as Eddie Howe’s side emerged the victors at the Vitality Stadium.
Watch the best in the video above, and vote for your favourite below…
The midfielder netted his first goal for the club to send Saints to Wembley at the expense of Wigan and was quick to hail the immediate impact made by the man who scored three times in finals of the famous competition as a player.
“The coach said before the game today the key would be mentality, desire and hard work because he knew that we had the quality,” the Dane said.
“I think I speak on everyone’s behalf when I say it has been positive. It is a new impulse, new energy, good vibes, a fresh start. He worked a lot on intensity and discipline, and the desire to go the extra yards as individuals and as a team.
“We have some really good players and maybe this is the perfect fit, nothing is perfect in this world but it’s a good start, let me just say that.”
There was plenty of action this weekend with the FA Cup and a handful of Premier League fixtures taking centre stage.
Mo Salah continued his scintillating form but has a flawless disciplinary record to match, whilst Gary Cahill has fallen down the pecking order at Chelsea.
Here, Sportsmail’s RALPH ELLIS takes a look at what we can take away from the top-flight happenings, as well as delivering a few pointers and what went on in the Football League.
As if Mo Salah’s goals weren’t enough, Liverpool’s Egyptian star also boasts the best disciplinary record in the Premier League.
Salah has yet to be shown a single yellow card this season in 41 club appearances – the last time he was booked in a club game was for Roma in a 0-0 draw at Empoli in October 2016.
Scoring four in the 5-0 drubbing of Watford didn’t even tempt him to rip off his shirt or jump in the crowd for celebration.
It’s starting to look as if Gary Cahill can book his holidays this summer and forget any hopes of going to the World Cup.
Overlooked from Gareth Southgate’s squad for this week’s friendlies with Holland and Italy – the first time he’s not been picked when fit since 2009 – he’s also dropped down Antonio Conte’s pecking order to make it tougher to win his place back.
He hasn’t started a Premier League game for Chelsea since the 4-1 defeat at Watford on February 5, and was also consigned to the bench for Sunday’s FA Cup trip to Leicester, getting on only for the final 19 minutes of extra-time in the 2-1 win.
Eric Bailly will be among the key figures for Jose Mourinho as he tries to wrap up Manchester United’s season by hanging on to second place and winning the FA Cup.
The Ivory Coast defender, erratic in his first couple of comeback games following ankle surgery against first Liverpool then Sevilla, was far more solid in the 2-0 quarter-final win over Brighton.
The £30m signing from Villareal has missed more than half United’s games because of injuries since his arrival in the summer of 2016 and Mourinho will be hoping to keep him fit for the remainder of the campaign.
One of the big aims for Mark Hughes to make sure he keeps Southampton in the Premier League will be to get the best from Dusan Tadic.
The Serbia international, due to win his 50th cap this week, can be Saints’ most creative player but has had a poor season under Mauricio Pellegrino, creating on average just 1.59 chances per game.
On Sunday at Wigan there were signs of him being back to form – he created five chances in addition to providing the assist for Pierre-Emile Hojberg to score the first goal.
Stoke’s ground staff aren’t above a bit of gamesmanship as they proved while clearing snow during half-time in the 2-1 defeat by Everton.
As well as making sure the blue lines on the Bet365 Stadium pitch were visible they also thoroughly swept the six-yard box which home goalkeeper Jack Butland was about to defend.
The other end, however, was left untouched presumably in the hope that either Jordan Pickford or one of his defenders would slip over!
Jordon Ibe deserves credit for his determination to rescue his career at Bournemouth following the miserable first season after his £15m move from Liverpool.
The 22-year-old winger has looked far brighter since January and his equaliser in the 2-1 win over West Brom meant he’d been directly involved in five goals (scored two, three assists) in his last eight Premier League appearances.
Until then he’d managed just three assists in his previous 44 outings for the Cherries.
Did Tottenham send a subliminal message to Swansea of how much they meant business by mostly wearing short sleeves despite the biting cold at the Liberty Stadium.
While every one of Swansea’s starting outfield players wore a long-sleeved undershirt beneath their match shirt, all but four of Mauricio Pochettino’s team ignored the weather.
Brazilian Lucas Moura and Eric Lamela from Argentina did wear gloves, but nobody else did and their fellow South American Davinson Sanchez was among the six with bare arms. The others were Kieran Trippier, Ben Davies, Moussa Sissoko, Jan Vertonghen and Eric Dier.
England’s age group selectors need to take a look fast at Queens Park Rangers teenager Eberechi Eze who has got people talking after just a handful of Championship appearances.
The 19-year-old, let go by Millwall because they didn’t think he was physical enough, has now starred in wins over Sunderland and Aston Villa and was excellent again in the 2-2 draw that stopped Fulham’s winning run.
Eze, born in Greenwich, has Nigerian ancestry and the African country have already invited him to train with them. Rangers boss Ian Holloway describes him as having similar abilities to the club’s legendary former star Stan Bowles.
The pressure is on for Jimmy Floyd-Hasselbaink as he tries to rebuild his management reputation at Northampton.
The former Chelsea star, who won promotion with Burton in his first English job but was then sacked by QPR, took over the League One club when they were bottom of the table in September.
He’s done well since lifting them to 18th in February, but a 3-0 defeat at home to Rotherham dropped the Cobblers back into the relegation zone.
They haven’t won at home since January, and next up are second placed Shrewsbury.
It is exactly a year since Cheltenham manager Gary Johnson was rushed to hospital to undergo a triple heart bypass operation, so credit to the 62-year-old for the way he’s fought back.
Gary, father of Bristol City boss Lee, never considered retirement and has handled the stresses and strains of League Two management without a problem.
A 1-1 draw at home to Chesterfield kept the tiny Gloucestershire club 14 points clear of the relegation zone in 15th place.
Harrison Reed’s Norwich City earned their first league win in eight matches in a five-goal thriller at Carrow Road.
The Canaries scored three first-half goals in a 4-3 defeat to Hull City the previous week but would not make the same mistake twice against Reading despite enduring a frantic finish once again.
Saints’ Reed returned to the side after sitting out at Barnsley and caught the eye at the heart of midfield as Daniel Farke’s side struck early through Mario Vrancic, Grant Hanley and James Maddison.
Liam Kelly and Sam Smith netted for the visitors but the Royals could not force an equaliser despite a late siege on the home goal.
Matt Targett’s Fulham meanwhile missed the chance to gain valuable ground on second-placed Cardiff as they let slip a two-goal advantage to draw with QPR.
The full-back has made an immediate impact on the Cottagers who nonetheless set a club record of 16 league games unbeaten; however, given the course of the game, will consider this as two points dropped rather than one gained.
Tom Cairney and Lucas Piazon put them in front before Rangers halved the deficit in first-half stoppage time through Massimo Luongo. Pawel Wszolek equalised nine minutes from time with Ian Holloway’s visitors unfortunate not to find a late winner.
In League Two, Marcus Barnes featured for the closing 10 minutes in Yeovil Town’s 1-0 away success at Colchester United. Fellow Saints loanee Ryan Seager was an unused substitute.
North of the border, Harry Lewis’s Dundee United were held to a 1-1 draw by Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the Scottish Championship.
Iain Vigurs gave the away side the lead before Thomas Mikkelsen diverted a shot into the net after the break to earn a share of the spoils. The result sees the third-placed Tangeries sit 19 points behind leaders St.Mirren with three games in hand.
Mark Hughes has delivered just what Saints needed in his first week in charge.
The tone of positivity and confidence in his opening press conference was like a breath of fresh air. That he gave the same sort of message to the players was similarly what they needed to hear.
Hughes then backed that up with his first team selection at Wigan.
Mauricio Pellegrino had always resisted calls to play two up front and, latterly, had even worked in training on playing Manolo Gabbiadini off of Guido Carrillo.
But when it came to the crunch he thought better of it and went safety first.
Alright this was a one-off FA Cup match, and so there wasn’t too much to lose first out for Hughes, but that he was prepared to step onto the front foot and picked them up front together certainly sent a message.
He has already said he wants wins. Obvious, perhaps, but still there was a feeling that Pellegrino at times started with the mindset of wanting to avoid defeat.
On top of all that, Saints got only a ninth victory of their campaign, and the small matter of an FA Cup semi-final spot at Wembley.
Even Hughes can surely allow himself a moment to sit back and reflect how much has happened in the space of just a week.
That Saints had to fight for their win at Wigan was probably also something of a bonus for Hughes and the team.
Not only can a performance like that help to galvanize the squad, as well as injecting a small sense of momentum and a bit of that notorious bounce effect ahead of the resumption of Premier League action, it also showed they are prepared to roll up their sleeves, something much needed after the horror showing at Newcastle.
It was tricky conditions for both teams, and Wigan handled it better in the first half.
Though Saints did generally contain them fairly well, they were perhaps a bit too deep and allowed the Latics a bit too much time to control the ball at the back and build play.
It wasn’t entirely unexpected, given that Wigan are used to winning matches as they ride high in League One while Saints have struggled all season and are in a relegation scrap, albeit in the Premier League.
Also, Saints were getting used to playing 4-4-2, a formation that you sense will suit their survival battle well, given it will likely bring one thing they have desperately lacked all season – goals.
The fact Wigan led the corner count 10-0 at the break and Saints hadn’t had a shot on target was an indication that the home side were the aggressors before the break.
Despite that, Saints were still solid enough to limit them to not an awful lot in front of goal.
Chey Dunkley might have connected when the ball broke to him in the area, Gary Roberts had half a chance but lifted his effort over the bar while Alex McCarthy had to turn over Max Power’s corner that was heading in.
The second half was a very different story as Saints made their top-flight superiority tell.
They pinned Wigan back as some much-needed intensity seeped into their game, and they were a constant threat.
Suddenly the gulf in league positions was clear, and Saints could have won by even more than they eventually did.
Gabbiadini had a great chance on 58 minutes as a misdirected back pass from Wigan defender Nathan Byrne picked out the Saints striker on his own in the area by the penalty spot. He should have produced a better finish but credit still went to Wigan keeper Christian Walton for getting out to save.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg worked Walton again four minutes later with a header from a corner before putting Saints ahead.
This time he met Dusan Tadic’s set-piece with a first time left footed shot that went in through a group of players.
Gabbiadini might have all but wrapped things up on 73 minutes when he had the chance to score from the penalty spot after being brought down by Dan Burn following a wonderful through ball from Nathan Redmond.
The Italian struck his spot kick well, but Walton made a terrific save diving to his left to deny him.
If there was a sense at the DW Stadium that Wigan’s marvellous FA Cup run, which had already claimed three Premier League scalps, including Manchester City, was about to continue, Saints did a great job of extinguishing hope.
They controlled most of the remainder of the game, continued to press Wigan back, and eventually got an injury time second to put the icing on the cake.
Redmond’s pass deflected up and Cedric Soares, who found himself on the left wing, headed the ball into his path, pressed into the area, and showed great composure to open up his body and slot the ball into the far corner.
While the Premier League is the priority for Saints this season, the FA Cup has been not only a handy distraction, but provided a much needed lift during a tough campaign.
Now it has yielded what will be a memorable day out to Wembley, a step nearer some glory and, if nothing else, the perfect launchpad for Hughes’ Saints reign.
Southampton fans have been seriously underwhelmed by their team’s performances this season. Goals are in short supply, the team lacks grit, Mark Hughes is the man tasked with staging a revival.
Curiously, instead of the familiar 4-2-3-1, win-some-lose-some approach Hughes normally takes with his teams, against Wigan he employed a tactical setup reminiscent of one he used to be part of before his Saints playing days. Whisper it, but it looked like it might even entertain.
Southampton lined up in a 4-4-2 for their FA Cup on Sunday, with Manolo Gabbiadini and Guido Carillo as strikers - the kind of crazy attacking plan that Claude Puel and Mauricio Pellegrino didn’t really appear to consider during their terms in charge. A sign of change.
The forward duo took turns to act as the traditional 10 in this strike partnership - a Teddy Sheringham - with the other playing off the shoulder of the last man looking for balls over the top into space, like Andy Cole.
Two central midfielders, Pierre-Emille Hojbjerg and Mario Lemina, had a you-stay-I-go deal going on, with the two wide midfielders allowed to move inside the pitch when the ball was on the opposite flank. If Sofiane Boufal had the ball on the left wing for example, Dusan Tadic would drift inside from the right.
West Ham’s co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold are determined to attend West Ham’s next match at the London Stadium despite some fans wanting them to stay away.
Sullivan, Gold and vice-chairman Karren Brady were the object of fans’ abuse at the club’s most recent home match, the 3-0 defeat by Burnley, and there has been speculation that all three would not attend what is a crucial game against fellow Premier League strugglers Southampton on March 31.
Fans feel the presence of the trio would prove a distraction in what is a vital match in West Ham’s bid to ensure their top-flight survival.
The co-chairmen, who have been heavily criticised for a lack of investment in the squad by supporters, many of whom are not happy with the club’s new home, have no intention at this stage, of staying away from the Southampton match and feel strongly they should be in their usual positions for the match.
However, they have yet to decide whether they will attend West Ham’s friendly at Dagenham and Redbridge on Wednesday — the club’s first match since the trouble against Burnley nine days ago.
Sullivan was allegedly hit by a coin during ugly scenes in the second half of that match and he, Gold and Brady eventually were forced to leave their seats before full-time.
The club have since attended a Safety Advisory Group meeting with stakeholders at which security and stewarding concerns were discussed with the result that there will be more stewards for the Southampton match plus a police presence inside the stadium.
The crowd problems have prompted an FA inquiry with the club potentially facing a heavy fine while the Safety Advisory Group has warned that any more trouble could result in a closure of part or all of the stadium for future matches.
West Ham will give life bans to supporters found guilty of offences which happened during the Burnley match and the club promise a similar zero-tolerance policy in future.
Wednesday’s friendly against Dagenham & Redbridge has been arranged to help raise funds for the National League club who have serious financial problems.
West Ham have been allocated 1,200 tickets for the match at the 6,000-capacity Victoria Road stadium. It is not clear whether the co-owners were intending to attend the match originally but safety and security concerns could be a deciding factor.
Sullivan, meanwhile, is tomorrow expected to meet members of the West Ham United Independent Supporters Association to hear their concerns.
Brady also recently met with various supporters groups to hear their grievances, including complaints about inadequate stewarding and dissatisfaction with the club’s badge. WHUISA claim they have trebled their numbers in the past few days and have been asking members for questions to put to Sullivan.
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Joey Barton does not hold back on his thoughts about Mark Hughes…
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