Everyone loves a cupset. Well, most people do.
If you’re a neutral, there’s nothing better than David beating Goliath in a cup competition. And, of course, if you support David that’s the dream every time a cup draw is made. Even fans of the Goliaths must be able to appreciate a giant-killing, once the inquests into their own clubs are done.
English football is the best for giant killings. And the increasing gap between the Premier League and the rest makes them even bigger.
What are the biggest English cupsets of the 21st century — from the FA Cup and EFL Cup (under its various names)? We’ve taken a look at some below.
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Bradford (p) 1-1 Arsenal
- Competition: Capital One Cup
- Season: 2012-13
The 2012-13 season of the Capital One Cup was an exciting one, with Bradford City and Swansea City contesting the final. En route to the final, Bradford pulled out one of the cupsets of the 21st century by knocking Arsenal out in the quarter-finals.
The Bantams looked to be taking the game in normal time thanks to Garry Thompson’s 16th-minute strike. A late Thomas Vermaelen equaliser sent the game to extra time, with neither side able to find the breakthrough. There was drama in the penalty shootout too, with Bradford taking a 2-0 lead thanks to missed spot-kicks from Santi Cazorla and Marouane Chamakh. But then Jack Wilshere and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scored, while Bradford missed two of their final three penalties.
Up stepped Vermaelen to give Arsenal another lifeline, but the Belgian’s penalty hit the post and the Gunners were knocked out.
Norwich 0-1 Luton
- Competition: FA Cup
- Season: 2012-13
On the face of it, this might not seem like an upset. Or certainly not a big one. But it was. This was in January 2013, when Norwich City were in the Premier League and Luton Town in the then-called Blue Square Bet Premier — the top step of non-league.
Norwich had a lot of opportunities to end Luton’s FA Cup dream in the third round but they couldn’t put them away. A Norwich side featuring a young Harry Kane, by the way. Luton had a lot of their own chances too, taking the game to the Premier League side at Carrow Road.
Scott Rendell was the goalscoring hero in the 88th minute for Luton, sealing a spot in the fourth round. It was the first time a non-league side had beaten a top-flight team in the FA Cup since Sutton United’s famous win over Coventry City in 1989.
Chelsea 2-4 Bradford
- Competition: FA Cup
- Season: 2014-15
Another cupset featuring Bradford, only this time it was in the FA Cup. And they didn’t need penalties. There were only two tiers between Chelsea and Bradford at the time of this tie, but the context is key. Chelsea were on their way to the Premier League title under Jose Mourinho and looked unstoppable. The Blues also led 2-0 in the 38th minute, thanks to goals from Gary Cahill and Ramires. And the game was at Stamford Bridge.
But Jon Stead pulled a goal back just before half time to give Bradford hope. They built on that in the second half, and then some. The Bantams were level by the 75th minute thanks to a goal from former Chelsea youth player Filipe Morais. The dream comeback was completed thanks to late goals from Andy Halliday and Mark Yeates, who will never forget those moments.
Even the likes of Eden Hazard, Cesc Fabregas and Didier Drogba could not get Chelsea over the line.
Burnley 0-1 Lincoln
- Competition: FA Cup
- Season: 2016-17
Burnley aren’t a footballing giant. But they were in the Premier League in 2016-17, and hosted non-league side Lincoln City for a place in the FA Cup quarter-finals. So the Clarets will have been fancied to make it to the final eight.
But, as you know by reading this list, there was a cupset at Turf Moor. This one was dramatic, with Sean Raggett scoring the only goal for Lincoln in the 89th minute. The Imps had to hold on despite the late goal, but they did. The win made Lincoln the first non-league team in 103 years to reach the quarter-finals of the FA Cup. Their reward was a trip to the Emirates Stadium to face Arsenal.
Sutton United 1-0 Leeds
- Competition: FA Cup
- Season: 2016-17
The 2016-17 FA Cup was the campaign for non-league sides. Sutton United joined Lincoln in the fifth round, though their journey there was ended by Arsenal. But that wasn’t before they knocked Championship side Leeds United out of the competition.
This was a home win for Sutton thanks to a penalty from Jamie Collins just after half-time. And it was a win they fully deserved. Leeds didn’t offer much in terms of hurting the Sutton goal, and their hopes of a comeback were flattened by a late red card for Liam Cooper. Sutton had reached the fifth round of the FA Cup for the first time in their history.
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Wigan 1-0 Man City
- Competition: 2017-18
- Season: FA Cup
Wigan Athletic had already secured a historic FA Cup win over Manchester City, beating them in the 2012-13 final. Just under five years later, the two sides met in the fifth round, with Man City expected to cruise to victory. After all, they were en route to the Premier League title, while Wigan were in League One.
But Wigan did not want to play ball. They wanted to win. They wanted Man City to suffer. And they were excellent. The Latics kept Man City at bay with strong defending, frustrating the visiting attack. At the other end of the pitch, they had Will Grigg on fire, and the Northern Irishman did exactly what he needed to do. Grigg scored the winner with just over 10 minutes to go, securing yet another big FA Cup win over Man City.
Colchester (p) 0-0 Tottenham
- Competition: Carabao Cup
- Season: 2019-20
Back to the EFL Cup, now called the Carabao Cup, and it’s another penalty shootout cupset. This time Tottenham Hotspur were on the receiving end, against League Two’s Colchester United. Tottenham had reached the semi-finals the season before, so weren’t expected to have any issues in the third round.
But Mauricio Pochettino’s men were frustrated by their hosts, who had already knocked Premier League side Crystal Palace out in the second round. There were no goals in this game, with the match going straight to penalties after the 90 minutes.
Christian Eriksen missed Tottenham’s first, but things were level going into the final spot-kicks after a Colchester miss. Lucas Moura hit the bar with his strike allowing Tom Lapslie to win the tie for the League Two side. It was the first time Pochettino had lost to a lower-league side in a domestic cup since moving to England in 2013.
Peterborough United 1-2 Chorley
- Competition: FA Cup
- Season: 2020-21
Chorley reached the fourth round of the FA Cup in 2020-21, beating Championship side Derby County on the way. But that cupset came with a big asterisk, as Derby had to field a team with an average age of 19 — missing their entire first-team squad and most of the under-23s. So some of the gloss was taken off.
But Chorley did knock League One side Peterborough United out of the second round. And it was a Peterborough side on their way to sealing promotion to the Championship. Chorley had to come from behind to beat Posh, with Jack Taylor giving the hosts the lead inside the opening minutes. But two goals in three second-half minutes from Connor Hall and Mike Calveley secured the big win for the sixth-tier team.
Bournemouth 0-1 Boreham Wood
- Competition: FA Cup
- Season: 2021-22
Boreham Wood had a good run to the fifth round of the FA Cup, representing the National League. Their biggest scalp en route was that of Championship side Bournemouth, whom they beat at the Vitality Stadium in the fourth round.
Mark Ricketts was the goalscoring hero for Boreham Wood, netting at the young age of 37, to set up a tie against Everton. But it was an all-round team performance with the defence keeping Bournemouth at bay for the entirety of the match.
“I am on top of the world, the emotions at the minute are incredible,” Boreham Wood manager Luke Garrard said after the win.
“We are such a dysfunctional family, but that is what is helping get us our results.”
Grimsby (p) 2-2 Man Utd
- Competition: Carabao Cup
- Season: 2025-26
This could have been much more humiliating than it actually was. Man Utd looked to be on their way out of the Carabao Cup in normal time, trailing League Two Grimsby 2-0. The Mariners were well worth their lead too, exploiting Man Utd’s weak areas.
Goals from Bryan Mbeumo and Harry Maguire saw Man Utd snatch a draw and a chance to win on penalties. It was a long penalty shootout, with only Clarke Oduor and Matheus Cunha missing from the first 22. Cunha had the chance to win it for Man Utd, but he missed their fifth spot-kick. Grimsby scored their next two, and Bruno Fernandes netted his second, leaving Mbeumo with the responsibility of keeping Man Utd in the tie. But the new signing hit the crossbar with his strike, sending Man Utd out.
Macclesfield 2-1 Crystal Palace
- Competition: FA Cup
- Season: 2025-26
Statisically, this is the biggest upset in FA Cup history. There were a massive 117 league places between Macclesfield and Crystal Palace when the two faced off in the FA Cup third round. And that was before you threw in the fact that Palace were the FA Cup holders.
Nobody expected this to happen. Palace have had their issues this season, but surely even a rotated XI would have enough to beat a team in the National League North. And even if an upset were to happen, the manner of it wouldn’t have been expected. This wasn’t a smash and grab. Macclesfield were excellent and well worth the upset. Paul Dawson and Isaac Buckley-Ricketts scored the goals for Macclesfield, to give them a 2-0 lead. Their defence was only breached late on by an excellent free-kick. But it was too late for Palace.