Man United exit FA Cup; AC Milan, Barca, Bayern clinch thrilling wins

Manchester United hit a new low after second division side Middlesbrough FC eliminated them from the FA Cup on penalties. It was teenager Anthony Elanga’s missed penalty that sent United crashing out of the competition. Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo, who turned 37 on Saturday, dragged a spot-kick wide in the first half.

Chelsea avoided a scare in the FA Cup fourth-round fixture against Plymouth Argyle. Kepa Arrizabalaga was Chelsea’s hero as the Spaniard denied Plymouth striker Aaron Hardie from 12 yards in the extra time. The Blues, who went behind in the eighth minute, won the tie courtesy of goals from Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso.

Riyad Mahrez netted a brace as Manchester City beat Fulham FC 4-1 at Etihad Stadium. The English Premier League leaders conceded in the fourth minute of the match. However, City were leading 2-1 nine minutes later. In the second half, Mahrez scored twice in quick succession to seal his side's place in the fifth round.

Liverpool clinched a place in the last 16 of the FA Cup courtesy of a 3-1 win over Cardiff City. Diogo Jota, Takumi Minamino, and Harvey Elliot found the net after a goalless first half. Both Liverpool full-backs - Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson - picked up an assist.

A clinical performance in the first half helped ten-man FC Barcelona sink Atletico Madrid. The Catalan outfit, who led 3-1 at half-time, defeated Diego Simeone’s men 4-2 at Camp Nou. Dani Alves set up Barca's opening goal and scored the fourth. But the Brazilian received a straight red for a reckless tackle on Carrasco in the 69th minute.

Marco Asensio snatched the winner for Real Madrid against Granada CF in the Spanish La Liga fixture on Monday. Real Madrid, who missed the services of injured Karim Benzema and suspended Vinicius Jr, broke the deadlock in the 74th minute. Asensio sent a stunning effort from 25 yards past the Granada goalkeeper.

Two goals in three minutes by Olivier Giroud saw AC Milan clinch a derby triumph over Inter Milan. In a thrilling clash at San Siro, Ivan Perisic put Inter ahead in the 38th minute. Former Arsenal and Chelsea striker Giroud equalized in the 75th minute and grabbed the winner three minutes later.

New signings Dusan Vlahovic and Denis Zakaria scored as Juventus grabbed a comfortable 2-0 win over Hellas Verona at home. Vlahovic, who joined from ACF Fiorentina, scored in the 13th minute. Meanwhile, former Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder Zakaria doubled the advantage immediately after the hour mark.

Napoli blanked Venezia FC 2-0 and picked up a fourth win in a row in the Italian Serie A. Victor Osimhen opened the scoring in the 59th minute, while Andrea Petagna added a second in stoppage time. The win helped Napoli go one point off league leaders Inter Milan.

An own goal gave Bayern Munich all three points against RB Leipzig at Allianz Arena. The German Bundesliga leaders led 2-1 at the break thanks to goals from Thomas Muller and Robert Lewandowski. Leipzig drew level early in the second half, but centre-back Josko Gvardiol's attempted block went into his own net in the 58th minute.

Erling Haaland-less Borussia Dortmund suffered a massive setback after a big defeat at the hands of third-placed Bayer Leverkusen. The title aspirants conceded three goals by the half-hour mark. Leverkusen added two more goals in the second half to inflict a 5-2 defeat on Dortmund.

French Ligue 1 leaders PSG eased past Lille in the matchday 23 fixture. Danilo Pereira, who grabbed a brace, scored the opener, while Presnel Kimpembe and Lionel Messi registered their names on the scoresheet in the first half. Real Madrid-bound Kylian Mbappe scored PSG's fifth. With 15 games remaining in the season, PSG has a 13-point lead over Marseille.