Chelsea denied Luton Town a fairytale upset at Kenilworth Road, coming from behind twice to defeat the Championship side 2-1 in the Emirates FA Cup fifth round.
Reece Burke put the Hatters ahead after just 102 seconds and while Saul Niguez levelled for the visitors, Harry Cornick gave the home side a 2-1 lead going into the break.
But second-half goals from Timo Werner and Romelu Lukaku ensured Chelsea’s safe passage to the next round, just days after Thomas Tuchel’s men lost in the League Cup final.
Meanwhile, Southampton booked their place in the next round with a 3-1 win over West Ham and Liverpool defeated Norwich 2-1 at Anfield to ensure they joined Chelsea in the last eight of the Emirates FA Cup.
LUTON DARE TO DREAM
It was the first time the Hatters had reached this stage since 2013 when they became the first non-league side in the Premier League era to beat a top-flight club in the competition.
Norwich were their victims that day and after just two minutes, the Kenilworth Road faithful were dreaming of another upset after the Championship outfit took a stunning lead.
Having earned their first corner of the game, Reece Burke rose highest to meet the delivery towards the near post and glance his header past Chelsea’s Kepa Arrizabalaga.
With the atmosphere rocking, Burke came close to adding a second minutes later only to see his looping header from a free-kick punched away by Arrizabalaga this time.
Chelsea responded with their first opportunity as Lukaku looked to get on the end of Hakim Ziyech's ball over the top as Luton goalkeeper Jed Steer raced out of his goal.
Neither Steer or Lukaku managed to get to the ball, with the chance coming to nothing, but it proved to be the end of the Luton shot-stopper’s night as he injured his ankle in the process.
THEY'VE DONE IT AGAIN 😱@CornickH, with a tidy breakaway and finish#EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/QUi4gu7xvt
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) March 2, 2022
Harry Isted replaced Steer and soon found himself in the thick of the action, collecting a Niguez header as Chelsea began to pile the pressure on the hosts.
The leveller arrived on 27 minutes after Luton gave the ball away in their own half, with Werner countering at speed before laying it off to Niguez to sweep it home.
But rather than crumble against the Club World Cup champions, the Hatters retook the lead on the cusp of half-time as Cornick slotted past Arrizabalaga after going through one-on-one.
Nathan Jones’ side started the second half much like they did the first, closing down the visitors at speed as the European champions found themselves repeatedly frustrated.
But Luton’s resistance was eventually broken for a second time on 67 minutes, with Werner taking advantage of Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s pass to slide home a cool finish into the corner.
And the Premier League outfit completed the comeback on 78 minutes as Lukaku pounced on a ball across the six yard box from Werner to strike the decisive, match-winning blow.
SAINTS AND LIVERPOOL MARCH ON
Southampton booked their place in the Emirates FA Cup quarter-finals in style, defeating fellow Premier League opponents West Ham 3-1 at Saint Mary’s to progress.
Last season’s semi-finalists took the lead on 31 minutes with a sensational strike from French left-back Romain Perraud, who hit a swerving screamer from 30 yards out into the top corner.
West Ham, sitting four places above their hosts in the league standings, levelled on the hour mark when Michail Antonio tapped in after Willy Caballero punched a cross against Kurt Zouma.
But the Saints retook the lead on 69 minutes from the penalty spot, with James Ward-Prowse slotting home after Craig Dawson brought down Armando Broja as he was about to shoot.
Broja put the icing on the cake for Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men in the fifth minute of injury time, cutting in from the left hand side before curling the ball into the far corner.
Elsewhere, Liverpool overcame a late second-half fightback from Norwich to join Southampton and Chelsea in the Emirates FA Cup quarter-finals with a 2-1 victory.
Fresh from their EFL Cup success following a nail-biting 11-10 penalty shootout win over Chelsea, Liverpool were looking to make the last eight for the first time under Jurgen Klopp.
The perfect goal doesn't ex-@SouthamptonFC #EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/SVdb38l68J
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) March 2, 2022
Competing in the fifth round for just the second time under the German, the hosts struggled to breakdown Norwich in the opening 25 minutes as the two sides cancelled each other out.
But the Reds finally took the lead in the 27th minute after Konstantinos Tsimikas' low ball found Divock Origi, who flicked the ball to Takumi Minamino for him to smash the ball home.
Minamino found the target again before half time to double Liverpool’s advantage, slamming the ball past Norwich goalkeeper Tim Krul at the back-post after Tsimikas’ corner fell his way.
The hosts appeared to be comfortable in the second half until Luka Rupp gave Norwich hope with a fierce strike from outside the box past Alisson on 76 minutes to cut the deficit.
Norwich continued to chase an equaliser in the closing stages but Liverpool saw out the remaining minutes without another scare to progress to the quarter-finals.
