There was plenty of action during today's FA Cup Round 3 ties, with Manchester United, Leicester and Arsenal all prevailing in their assignments. But there were some surprises throughout the day as well.
Big Sam returns to Bolton
Just 67 days after parting ways with the English Football team, Allardyce was appointed the manager of Crystal Palce. And today, he took a trip back to his old stomping ground at Bolton where he was greeted with a round of applause upon coming out of the tunnel.
It's been almost 10 years since he called time on his eight year stint as the Bolton boss and the sides played out a 0-0 draw today. Palace could well have lost the tie against a side, who are two divisions beneath them, with Josh Vela unlucky to see his shot come back off the bar.
Arsenal scrape through against Preston
Another Premier League side who were rattled today, was Arsenal. Arsène Wenger's charges trailed Preston for 46 minutes after Callum Robinson gave the Championship side an early lead.
Aaron Ramsey equalised shortly after half-time before Olivier Giroud snatched the win in the concluding minutes of the tie.
Wenger admitted after the game that Preston 'can feel a bit unlucky tonight because they've created chances in the first half and we needed to give absolutely everything to win the game.'
Today's win sees Arsenal maintain a unique FA Cup record in which they have progressed beyond the third round of the competition in each of the past 21 seasons.
Wayne Rooney takes his place alongside Bobby Charlton
Wayne Rooney made history today, by scoring his 249th Man United goal, making the club's joint top goal-scorer alongside Bobby Charlton. Charlton's record which previously stood since 1973.
Rooney's milestone goal arrived in the seventh minute of their 4-0 victory over Reading and puts him ahead of United legends including Denis Law, Jack Rowley, George Best and Ryan Giggs.
There was an amusing moment after the tie where it appeared that Reading's George Evans declined to swap jerseys with him. Evans later explained on Twitter that he did arrange to trade shirts with Rooney but that they would wait until they got to the Old Trafford tunnel to do it.
Irish players impress
There were a few Irish representatives on the pitch and on the score sheets today. Daryl Murphy netted for Newcastle as part of their 1-1 draw with Birmingham while Matt Doherty scored Wolves' second goal on their way to dumping Stoke out of the competition.
'Strictly come dancing' ft Aiden McGeady Show. pic.twitter.com/fmF4DL7Syi #EmiratesFACup
— Footysays (@Footy_Says) January 7, 2017
Meanwhile, Daryl Horgan was sprung from the bench for the final 10 minutes of Preston's impressive display against Arsenal, and Aiden McGeady's powerful run through the Arsenal cover helped pave the way for Preston's seventh minute goal which gave them a lead that lasted until the 46th minute.
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