5 talking points from Women's FA Cup fifth round as incredible 41 goals scored

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Kit Graham and Tottenham were knocked out by Reading
Kit Graham and Tottenham were knocked out by Reading

Just days after players landed back after playing for their home countries during the international break, they were back on the pitch for their domestic clubs in the fifth round of the Women's FA Cup.

It was a weekend full of goals as lowest ranked side Lewes sailed through to the quarter finals - for the first time in their history, while holders Chelsea knocked out 14-time FA Cup winning Arsenal after a wasteful performance for the Gunners.

Manchester City annihilated Championship side Bristol City 8-1, while two of the ties went to penalties and we now have our quarter-finalists.

Here are five talking points from the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Arsenal suffering without Mead and Miedema

The Gunners were let down in their performance against Chelsea without key forward players - and the difference in squad depth is showing the more they play each other. The lack of reinforcement brought in during the January transfer window to bolster the squad in Beth Mead and Vivianne Miedema's absence is punishing Arsenal.

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They face one another again in just a week's time and Jonas Eidevall will be looking to make sure his strikers are at the top of their game and making sure they take every chance they create - which is what let them down on Sunday and knocked them out of the FA Cup.

Don't ever underestimate Reading

Reading may be near the bottom of the WSL, but Spurs hold a record nobody wants - seven-straight defeats in the league - and that showed on Sunday. Spurs boss Rehanne Skinner has previously said she has been pleased with the more recent performances from her team - and maybe the elimination from the cup will help the team focus on WSL survival.

The game finished in stalemate at the end of normal time, and even at the end of extra-time nobody could break deadlock and it came to penalties. Reading kept their cool and didn't falter as they won 5-4 and could give them the confidence they need to battle against relegation in the league.

Man City can only score big in cup games

5 talking points from Women's FA Cup fifth round as incredible 41 goals scoredMan City thrashed Bristol City 8-1 (PA)

After not only scoring a hat-trick, Bunny Shaw added another to her tally to make her goal total four out of the eight scored against Bristol City today.

The last time these two sides met, Manchester City put six past the Robins only a month ago in the Continental Cup quarter finals. If fact, the Citizens have scored a total of 32 goals in all seven cup ties to date while only conceding two, compared to their league stats of 27 goals in 13 games.

Their biggest league win this campaign was the 4-0 in the home tie vs Leicester City in October, while their highest scoring cup win was the 7-0 thrashing of second tier Sheffield United in the previous FA Cup round.

Lowest ranked side Lewes through to quarter-final

Lewes made history by making the FA Cup quarter-final for the first time in history. The side - who was up against record-breaking Cardiff City Ladies in fine form in their own league, could have faced a battle. But it was Lewes who took their chances on the day, cruising past Cardiff to win 6-1.

They are now likely to face a top-tier WSL side in the quarter-final, or Championship side Birmingham who won 1-0 over Charlton Athletic.

West Ham and Aston Villa battle it out to sudden death penalties

Aston Villa just made it to the quarter-final after a sudden death penalty win over West Ham. Rachel Daly slotted home her 17th goal of the season for Villa in the 50th minute, but they were taken to extra time after a 92nd equaliser from West Ham through Brynjarsdottir.

The tie saw a level-WSL playing field fixture, with both teams sitting in the middle of the table with just four points separating them and it played out exactly like that until penalties went to deadlock. Villa eventually won 7-6.

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Laura Hartley

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