Jean-Philippe Mateta suffered a serious ear injury after being subjected to a horrific tackle from Millwall goalkeeper Liam Roberts in the FA Cup clash between the south London sides.
Manchester City survived giant-killers Plymouth to win 3-1, while Bournemouth beat Wolverhampton Wanderers on penalties.
Celtic are just three wins away from the Scottish title after thrashing St Mirren, while Rangers suffered another home defeat.
Mateta is terrible
Mateta was hospitalised after what Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish described as “the most reckless challenge on a football pitch I have ever seen”.
Eagles striker Mateta was hit on the head by Roberts' studs as he ran out to clear the ball.
Mateta required extensive medical attention on the pitch and was taken to an ambulance on a stretcher.
The Frenchman later posted on social media that he was “feeling fine” and was released from hospital on Saturday evening after receiving 25 stitches for a “serious laceration to his left ear”.
At half-time, Parish told the BBC: “This is the most reckless challenge on a football pitch I have ever seen and he needs to think seriously about his behaviour as he is putting the life of a fellow professional and possibly his own at risk.”
After Palace's 3-1 win, Parish added on Sky Sports: “I think his ear nearly split in half.”
Millwall fans did not put up a good show by chanting “let him die” as Mateta lay on the pitch, while the Football Association launches an investigation into homophobic chants directed at Palace defender Ben Chilwell.
The city survives, it's scary
Youngster Nico O'Reilly scored twice as Manchester City beat brave Plymouth 3-1 in the FA Cup fifth round.
The Premier League champions were left shocked when Maxim Taloverov headed his title-challenged side ahead in the 38th minute at the Etihad Stadium.
However, any hopes the Pilgrims had of continuing their unlikely cup run after surprise wins over Brentford and Liverpool were dashed by O'Reilly.
The 19-year-old, who was filling in at left-back, equalised before half-time and then repeated the feat 14 minutes from time.
Kevin De Bruyne sealed City's place in the quarter-finals with a third goal in the dying minutes.
Cherry on the spot
In the other cup competition, Bournemouth reached the quarter-finals for only the third time in their history, beating Wolverhampton Wanderers 5-4 on penalties.
The fifth-round clash at the Vitality Stadium was full of drama, with Evanilson opening the scoring in the 30th minute followed by a VAR controversy when Milos Kerkez's goal was disallowed for offside after an eight-minute review.
Matheus Cunha equalised for Wolves with a stunning second-half goal to send the game into extra time but was later sent off by referee Sam Barrott in a fit of madness for violent conduct.
Further punishment could await Cunha as he repeatedly clashed with Kerkez ahead of the penalty, while Matt Doherty missed when he had the chance to give Wolves the lead, Boubacar Traore hit the crossbar and Lou
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
