The best ever FA Cup semi-finals

This time of year is usually FA Cup semi-final time, so Paul Higham and Joe Townsend have delved into the archives to pick out the best of the bunch. In addition, if you are interested in football betting, you can refer lớn the website free soccer tips.

It seems looking back at football days gone by is a handy way for people lớn raise their spirits and pass the time in these days of uncertainty, so here at Sporting Life we'll do our best lớn entertain and engage with a look at the best football has had to offer of the years.

This time it's the FA Cup semi-finals. Plenty of these have been given re-run airtime on tivi so that got us thinking about the best games from down the years of this famous old competition.

Crystal Palace 4-3 Liverpool - 1990

It’s not quite Wimbledon beating Liverpool in the FA Cup final of a couple of years earlier, but this really was a turn up for the books given the obvious gap in class between the teams – and just the pure thrill of the soccer tips daily win makes it worthy of top spot.

The Reds had, after all, smashed the Eagles 9-0 at Anfield earlier in the season and strolled into a 14th minute lead at Villa Park – back in the good old days when semi-finals were played on truly neutral venues around the country.

Oldham 3-3 Man Utd - 1990

April 8 1990 was one hell of a day for FA Cup football, with this belter taking place just after Liverpool’s exit and also producing a thriller up at Maine Road.

Joe Royle’s Latches were in the second division but had already made the Littlewoods Cup (as it was then) final after thrashing West ham mê with the help of their plastic pitch at Boundary Park, but they showed they could play on grass too in this one.

Manchester United 2-1 Arsenal – 1999 (Joe Townsend)

So much is this match remembered for Ryan Giggs’ incredible winning goal and shirt-off, chest-hair exposing celebration, an image indelibly etched on the psyche of any 1990s football fan, that the rest of the match is often forgotten.

Having played out a goalless draw in the first meeting, the teams met again at Villa Park and the drama that ensued was in stark comparison lớn the drab 0-0 of three days prior.

Middlesbrough 3-3 Chesterfield – 1997 (Joe Townsend)

When third-tier Chesterfield reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup they were as big an underdog as there’s ever likely lớn be, and they were robbed of a place at Wembley.

When Premier League big spenders Middlesbrough had Vladimir Kinder sent off shortly before half-time the Spireites took full advantage lớn race 2-0 ahead at Old Trafford.

Tottenham 3-1 Arsenal - 1991

An iconic goal in an iconic game from an English football icon – sometimes things just fall so sweetly into place lớn carve out a rare piece of footballing perfection. This day in 1991 was all about Paul Gascoigne.

The scorching 30-yard free kick that flew beyond David Seaman was only beaten by Gazza’s brief but legendary post-match interview in the Wembley tunnel – they don’t make players like him anymore.

Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 Sheffield United - 1993

The Steel City was deserted on April day in 1993 as over 75,000 of the city’s football fans travelled down the M1 to Wembley to see their sides clash for a place in the FA Cup final.

As with the north London derby at the same venue two years previous, this semi-final saw a wonderful free kick from one of England’s most talented stars – as Chris Waddle rifled in a magnificent free kick from almost the identical spot lớn Gazza’s against Arsenal.