TODAY'S HAT TRICK

1. Big news to start today as Nottingham Forest have been hit with a four-point deduction for breaching Premier League profit and sustainability rules. BBC Sport’s Nick Mashiter has more on the story here with Forest now dropping below Luton and into the relegation zone.

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2. Disgraceful scenes marred the end of a Turkish Super Lig match yesterday as Trabzonspor fans stormed the pitch to attack Fenerbahce players celebrating a late 3-2 win. Ex-Chelsea striker Michy Batshuayi was seen aiming a spinning kick at one pitch invader during the incident Fifa president Gianni Infantino has condemned as "absolutely unacceptable".

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3. An arrest has been made after alleged tragedy chanting during yesterday’s FA Cup quarter-final between Manchester United and Liverpool. Greater Manchester Police said “incidents today crossed the line of what is acceptable”.

THE BIG TAKE

New hope at Old Trafford

Manager Erik ten Hag embraces Alejandro Garnacho after an exhilarating 4-3 win over Liverpool Credit: Getty

In the UK, there was hysteria at the denouement of the Six Nations rugby competition with three great games and it was hard to imagine sport being more exciting.

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Then, the FA Cup showed that anything you can do with a funny-shaped ball we can do just as well with a round one. 

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Manchester United’s 4-3 win against Liverpool after extra-time was a classic that few people would have expected. United’s spirit looked and felt more like one of their great teams of yesteryear. As with some Cup games, tactics and sense went out the window as the goals flowed. There isn’t space to do the spectacle justice here, but surely now Ten Hag’s side can kick on with the belief from this victory? 

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They now face Coventry in the semi-final and suddenly a season that was moments and even inches away from an ignominious end could become one of the great stories of recent years. 

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Man City eased past Newcastle and in the end that could be the most important thing, City look imperious in every competition however much heart their neighbours showed at the weekend.

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• BBC Sport’s Phil McNulty - ‘There is life in Ten Hag yet’

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• Ten Hag - Liverpool win could be turning point

Raheem’s rough ride

I popped down to Chelsea for BBC Radio 5 Live, expecting an easy win for the home side. Chelsea like Manchester United needed to win to save their entire season and Leicester had far bigger fish to fry with promotion to the Premier League being their main focus, so I thought it might be dull. 

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With six goals, a missed penalty, a sending off, one of the most bizarre own goals I have ever witnessed and some fabulous performances and skills on both sides, specifically from Cole Palmer, Malo Gusto and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (what is he doing outside the Premier League) - it was anything but dull. Chelsea fans also serenaded their own manager at one point with the less than pleasant ditty, “You don’t know what you’re doing”.

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Chelsea got through to the semi-final, but it was the whole melodrama surrounding Raheem Sterling that will live long in the memory, for good and ill. 

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He had an awful game which can happen to anyone. Missing a penalty that he clearly shouldn’t have taken off Cole Palmer in the first place annoyed the Blues fans. Then a few more missed chances were followed by an effort from a free-kick that was so awful and so high over the bar it would have been funny, except it was getting a bit ugly by then. 

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The Chelsea fans were openly booing their own highest-paid player. 

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Eventually Mauricio Pochettino got the message and removed the former England international.

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To makes things worse for Sterling, his replacement Noni Madueke waltzed on and pinged a worldie into the top corner to seal the game. As Sterling trudged off however he clapped the Chelsea fans, almost as if to say, “I know I had a bad one and I get your frustration with me”. 

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Within seconds the vast majority of Chelsea fans were applauding him. It was a classy moment from Raheem when it could have gone very wrong and could have had long-term negative ramifications. It’s best just to remember his assist for Cole Palmer’s goal and the fact that they got through. 

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If Chelsea get to the final Raheem might even score the winner and it will all be so much water under Stamford Bridge, he will certainly hope so.

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• Pochettino - Chelsea fans should trust the club, not me

Bees on red alert

The battle at the bottom was the focus in the Premier League this weekend and it didn’t let anyone down in terms of excitement. 

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Each team have their own storyline, but there is no doubt that Brentford, who have been considered least in danger, are now smack bang in the middle of the danger zone. They have been many people’s favourite underdogs with their limited funds and modern data-driven ideas, but they could be heading for a train crash. 

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Many of their problems seemed to stem form the interruption of Ivan Toney’s availability because of his ban for betting breaches. Since his return the expected upturn hasn’t happened.

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Last season, they finished ninth on 59 points (1.5 points per game) but after losing to fellow strugglers Burnley they have 26 points from 29 games this season, that is hovering around 0.9 points per game. 

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On the positive side, they haven’t completely capitulated, with spirited recent performances against Liverpool, Arsenal, Man City and Chelsea, but they only secured one point from those four outings. 

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They have an easier run-in on paper, but no game is easy when you are on a losing streak. There is negativity when you are dropping down the table, the psychology is very different form battling to get back up the way Nottingham Forest and Luton are. Considering how much they have been copied and envied by others higher up the league, many are looking at not only Toney, but their acquisitions specialists, the Bees fans know that this is the biggest danger they have faced in years. They need a win and they need one soon.

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• Burnley boost survival hopes as Bees lose again

A familiar feeling for Spurs fans

Burnley haven’t given up, but five points from safety with a rotten goal difference and only nine games to go is cutting it a bit fine for the big come back. It may well be that of those teams expected to go down - no one is even making a case for Sheffield United just now - it is Luton who still have the best chance. 

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The problem is that they are running out of chances because they aren’t taking their chances. Being 3-0 up at half time against Bournemouth last week and still losing 3-4 would have sunk some clubs, but not the Hatters. Their late goal against Forest on Saturday underlined they haven’t gone away. And for all the spurned opportunities and points, they remain well in with a shout of safety with not a flicker of negativity visible in the entire club. 

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Their hopes have been boosted with today’s news of a four point deduction for Nottingham Forest which means Rob Edwards’ side are out of the relegation zone by a point. With Everton also awaiting punishment for a second alleged PSR breach, nobody is writing Luton off just yet.

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Tottenham were the other notable combatants, this time going down 3-0 at Fulham. Just when they had the chance to muscle their way into the top four, they did something very, and I hesitate to write this, ‘Spursy’. 

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Famously they have had a habit of grabbing defeat from the jaws of victory, but I think this is unfair on the current side. Fulham are tasty at home, Rodrigo Muniz is looking twice as good a player every time he plays and Spurs’ current position is still a very acceptable position considering it is Ange Postecoglou’s first season. 

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He deserves time to make Spurs a top-four side, even if they might miss out this time.

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• Luton hit late equaliser against Forest

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• Red-hot Muniz fires Fulham to Spurs victory

Forwards fluff their lines

Once again there were some stunning sitters being missed that blighting the top teams. 

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Erling Haaland is among those to have recently missed unmissable chances and this week David Fofana joined the ranks only to be followed by Spurs sub Timo Werner. Both missed wide open goals without even a keeper in the vicinity to put them off. I can’t recall there being just as many howlers years ago, but then again every match wasn’t televised, poured over and then the clips re-shown millions of times on TV and social media. My suspicion is that there are neither more or less sitters being missed now than in the past.

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The only difference is that current players can’t turn round and blame the pitch for an awful bobble as they play on something akin to billiard tables. 

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Unlucky lads.

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Malen the main man

Arsenal, Liverpool and Man Utd are ready to duke it out for the signing of Donyell Malen while David Moyes wants to bring Harry Maguire to West Ham this summer, according to today’s gossip pages.

Q. Hello Pat, if you could travel back in time, which era and which players would you love to see showcasing their special talents? Any favourites? (Mark, Canada, Football Extra reader)

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A. The period I would like to revisit is the one around the late 1960s early to mid 1970s. I would love to watch these teams and players in the flesh week in, week out.

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So, Pele’s Brazil in 1970, Cruyffs Ajax of the early 1970s, Glasgow Celtic European Cup winners including Jimmy Johnstone then on to the team that included a young Kenny Dalglish, Danny McGrain and David Hay among others.

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I did see most of these teams, but if I was doing my current job as an analyst/co-commentator with BBC back then I would have seen them so much more and they were great teams and players.

Around the clubs

Newcastle midfielder Bruno Guimaraes shows his feelings after being dumped out of the FA Cup at Manchester City

Are Newcastle playing with 'fear' at the moment? It's not an allegation often levelled at Eddie Howe's side in recent times but that's the appraisal of their current form from former Chelsea defender Mario Melchiot. Read his full comments here.

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Brentford striker Neal Mapuay has developed a reputation as the Premier League's chief wind-up merchant - and BBC Match of the Day commentator Tom Gayle reveals he was at it again this weekend, attempting to rile Burnley assistant manager Craig Bellamy by messing with his earpiece during the game.

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Was Bournemouth striker Dominic Solanke unlucky to miss out on an England call-up? Ex-Premier League bagsman Clinton Morrison thinks so, sharing his thoughts on the Bournemouth forward on BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily this weekend.

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Don’t forget – we have feeds for all 20 Premier League clubs over in this direction.

A Danish sports journalist says he has “no problem” with Jurgen Klopp despite being on the wrong end of an outburst from the German manager after yesterday’s FA Cup defeat to Manchester United. Klopp allegedy “yelled and screamed” at Viaplay reporter Niels Christian Frederiksen having stormed out of their TV interview. However, Frederiksen said the two would “still be good friends - professionally speaking.”

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