In one of the greatest upsets in FA Cup history, sixth-tier Macclesfield stunned defending champions Crystal Palace with a 2-1 victory on Saturday. The "Silkmen," sitting more than 100 places below the Premier League giants, sent the holders crashing out in the third round.
Captain Paul Dawson opened the scoring just before halftime with a powerful header. Isaac Buckley-Ricketts, a former Manchester City academy player, doubled the lead in the 60th minute, sparking wild celebrations at the 5,900-capacity Moss Rose stadium.
"I didn't think it was possible, but anything can happen on the day," said Macclesfield coach John Rooney, younger brother of England legend Wayne Rooney. "We were incredible from the first minute and deserved the win."
Despite a last-minute free kick from Crystal Palace’s Yeremy Pino, the non-league side held on through six minutes of stoppage time. Palace manager Oliver Glasner slammed his team’s performance, stating they "missed everything" and deserved to lose.
While Palace faltered, Manchester City showed no mercy, thrashing third-tier Exeter 10-1. New signing Antoine Semenyo, who joined from Bournemouth for £65 million on Friday, was among the nine different scorers for City.
Elsewhere, Newcastle edged past Bournemouth 7-6 on penalties after a thrilling 3-3 draw, while Sunderland eliminated Everton in another penalty shootout following a 1-1 stalemate.
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