The five biggest shocks in FA Cup history

Throughout the history of England’s premier football cup tournament there have been plenty of giant-killing results that have made headlines. These are the top 10 upsets in FA Cup history:

Liverpool v Wimbledon

The 1988 Cup Final remains one of the biggest tournament upsets ever. Liverpool were aiming for the double, while Wimbledon had been non-league a few years before. Lawrie Sanchez wrote his name into history with the winner, while keeper Dave Beasant saved a penalty.

Sunderland v Leeds

In 1973 Leeds, under Don Revie, were one of the most successful – and feared – teams in England – whereas Sunderland were struggling in the Second Division. Thus the Black Cats’ 1-0 win has to go down as one of the greatest upsets in the history of the tournament.

Bournemouth v Manchester United

Manchester United, then managed by Ron Atkinson were turfed out of the tournament by Bournemouth in 1984. And the manager who masterminded the 2-0 win? Harry Redknapp – wonder what happened to him!

Sutton v Coventry

To understand the full scale of the shock of this 2-1 win in 1989, you need to remember that Coventry had won the FA Cup just 18 months earlier against Tottenham. Thus their third round defeat to non-league Sutton United went down as one of the shocks of that year’s tournament.

Wrexham v Arsenal

When this tie was played in 1992 Arsenal, under manager George Graham were the champions of English football, while Wrexham were languishing at the bottom of the forth division. No one gave them a ghost of a chance of pulling off a result. As expected Arsenal went ahead with a goal from Alan Smith, but – not for the first time under George Graham – never scored a second goal. Wrexham equalised with ten minutes left, through Mickey Thomas, before grabbing a late victory with a goal by Steve Watkin.