Cupset! EPL clubs and their shocking defeats this season

It last happened in 1959.

It was Worcester City that year. This year, Oldham Athletic became the team to beat Liverpool 3-2 in a shock FA Cup result. The Reds’ 54-year-old record of never being beaten away by a team at least two divisions below them was broken in style by Paul Dickov’s side on Sunday.

Oldham Athletic are 19th and battling relegation in League One, which is the third tier of English football. They were win-less in their last nine games and no one expected them to beat Liverpool (courtesy a Matt Smith double). Not when they started with Luis Suarez, Raheem Sterling, Daniel Sturridge, Martin Skrtel, Fabio Borini, Jordan Henderson and Joe Allen — household names in Merseyside.

But cups have a different magic, and upsets are as good a part of it as triumphs.

It isn’t just Liverpool who have discovered that this season. Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Aston Villa, QPR and Norwich–all top-flight teams– have faced heartache in either the League Cup or the FA Cup.

Bradford vs Arsenal, Aston Villa and Wigan: Bradford are on a dream run in the League Cup. This, despite their stop-start form in League Two — four divisions below Arsenal. En route to a final against Swansea, they beat three EPL teams and have rightfully earned the title of giant-killers this season. A 4-2 win on penalties against Wigan was followed by a 4-3 aggregate win against Aston Villa and a victory on penalties against Arsenal (3-2). If they can consume Swansea, this will be one of the most memorable runs in the League Cup’s history.

Leeds vs Tottenham: Tottenham, fresh from a rip-roaring draw at Manchester United, were certain favourites against Neil Warnock’s Leeds United. But the Championship team, who are 11th in their league managed to hold on to a 2-1 win to enter the fifth round of the FA Cup for the first time in a decade. Andre Villas-Boas, whose tactics finally seem to be working, saw his team succumb to unlikely defeat while Warnock admitted that he will ’treat himself to a bag of crispies.'

Norwich vs Luton: Luton are 85 places below Norwich if all the league tables are amalgamated. So a 1-0 win for them is a stunning achievement. And Norwich aren’t as lowly as you think. They’ve delivered some top-class performances this season, including a win against Manchester United. Luton’s win means they are the first team outside the 92 English sides that make up the top four divisions to beat a top-flight club in the FA Cup for 24 years.

QPR vs MK Dons: To be frank, QPR were not expected to hammer Dons, but they weren’t expected to lose 2-4 either. This is a team who recently signed Loic Remy for around eight million pounds. Harry Redknapp, who doesn’t mince words, branded the loss as “disgusting.”