Gabriel Martinelli scored his first hat-trick for Arsenal as the Premier League leaders beat second-tier strugglers Portsmouth 4-1 to reach the FA Cup fourth round.
Manchester United and Arsenal closed the gap on Premier League leaders Chelsea with classy, one-sided wins over struggling Wigan Athletic and Portsmouth on Wednesday.
Darron Gibson fired holders Manchester United through to the last four of the English League Cup on Tuesday with a 2-0 win at Old Trafford that ended Tottenham Hotspur's hopes of a third successive final.
Premier League strugglers Portsmouth have sacked manager Tony Adams after a slump in form which has left them in danger of relegation.
Swansea City scored the day's biggest upset when they knocked holders Portsmouth out of the FA Cup with a deserved 2-0 fourth-round win at Fratton Park on Saturday.
Jermain Defoe scored against his old club on Sunday to help earn Portsmouth a 2-0 Premier League victory at Fratton Park.
Manchester City were bundled out of the English League Cup by League One Brighton & Hove Albion on penalties on Wednesday.
Portsmouth blasted the title race wide open on Saturday with a 2-1 victory over leaders Manchester United.
Chelsea beat Portsmouth 2-0 while Arsenal easily got the better of Blackburn Rovers 3-0 in Saturday's EPL matches.
The England striker scored his first goal for Manchester City as his new club went top of the Premier League with a 2-1 win at Sunderland.
Liverpool slumped to their third straight league defeat of the season at Portsmouth on Saturday.
Balotelli made his debut for his hometown club after completing a four-match suspension that he was handed at Olympique de Marseille last season, while the visitors were without Cristiano Ronaldo as he recovers from injury.
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