The FA Cup returns this week with the fourth round ties set to get underway on Friday 25th January, with the potential for a giant killing stronger than ever. There was plenty of upsets in round three, with the likes of Oldham Athletic, Barnet, Accrington Stanley, Newport County and Gillingham all upsetting higher league opposition.
Ahead of this week’s ties, we take a trip down memory lane and explore Bradford City’s incredible 4-2 win over Chelsea from 2015. But before we do so, you can bet on which team will relegate on Betfair right now.
The Bantams had to navigate past Millwall in a third round replay before their dream tie at Stamford Bridge could be realised, and boy, did they live that dream.
First half
Bradford’s daunting task wasn’t made any easier when the Chelsea starting XI was announced. The likes of Petr Cech, Gary Cahill, Oscar and Didier Drogba were all included from the off and as expected, the home side started the game on the front foot.
Manager Jose Mourinho was looking for an 11th successive home win, and things were very much going to plan when Cahill put the Blues in front after 21 minutes. The England centre-back found the back of the net after steering in Oscar’s left-wing corner.
At that point, Bantams boss Phil Parkinson was likely thinking the worst and those fears were confirmed when Ramires doubled Chelsea’s lead on 38 minutes, after playing a neat one-two with a certain Mohammed Salah.
Mourinho’s men looked in complete control from that point and it appeared that the west Londoners just needed to see out the match – something of which they specialised in under the Portuguese manager – but the magic of the cup was about to be unleashed via a Jon Stead thunderbolt.
The former Blackburn Rovers striker got City back into the game just four minutes before the break, scoring a marvellous effort from just outside the box to give the Bantams following something to cheer.
Second half
Filipe Morais, who started his career at Chelsea, came back to haunt them when he brought Bradford level after 75 minutes. The midfielder side footed home after the home side left him completely unmarked at the back post.
Mourinho tried to regain the lead when he introduced Eden Hazard straight after the equaliser, but it was to no avail as Bradford took a shock lead with eight minutes remaining. Andy Halliday was the hero, after he was teed up by Stead on the edge of the box before firing home past a despairing Cech in the Chelsea goal.
There was only ever going to be one winner from that moment, and Parkinson’s men made sure of victory when Mark Yeates slotted home after great hold-up play from Stead. Some 6,000 Bantams fans made the trip and it’s fair to say, they probably won’t ever see a cup upset like it.
“It's a disgrace for a big team to lose to a small team from a lower league," Mourinho told BBC Sport after the upset.
"Me and the players must feel ashamed," he added. If truth be told, a Premier League giant shouldn’t lose to a side 49 places below them in the football pyramid but the FA Cup is no normal club competition.
For Parkinson and his heroes, it’ll go down in Bradford folklore as quite possibly their best ever result.