- Man City have beaten Liverpool
- Erling Haaland scored a hat-trick
- City are in the FA Cup semi-finals
Manchester City have defeated Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-finals after goals from Erling Haaland and Antoine Semenyo.
Liverpool started the match well with quick-paced passing and it was Mohamed Salah who had the first chance. The Egyptian ran behind the Man City defence, but Abdukdoir Khusanov managed to block his shot at the final moment.
Rayan Cherki could have scored at the other end a couple of minutes later, but he took a poor touch after receiving a brilliant through ball. Shortly afterwards, the Frenchman was denied a penalty when he went down inside the penalty box, much to Pep Guardiola’s dismay.
Hugo Ekitike had the next opportunity of the game shortly before the half-hour mark, but he smashed a half volley wide of the right post.
Roughly 10 minutes later, Nico O’Reilly was fouled by Virgil van Dijk in the box and this time there was no debate about whether it was worthy of a penalty kick. Erling Haaland has no problem slotting it away, putting Man City ahead.
Then just before half-time, the Norwegian doubled his team’s lead with a brilliant header and the build-up play was just as impressive. Cherki found Antoine Semenyo with a through pass and the 26-year-old found Haaland with a well directed cross.
Half-time: Manchester City 2-0 Liverpool
Man City doubled their lead in the second half
Only five minutes into the second half, Man City scored again to ultimately seal the victory. Rayan Cherki played a superb pass to Antoine Semenyo and the Ghanaian delivered a really good finish.
Liverpool came close to responding very soon after through Salah, with James Trafford called into action. However, the goalkeeper made a convincing save. The 33-year-old soon fired another effort, but it was very poorly hit.
It was not long before the ball was back down the other end of the pitch and in Liverpool’s net. Semnyo passed to Nico O’Reilly and the England international pulled it back from Haaland. He came up with a powerful finish to complete his hat-trick, giving the Citizens a 4-0 lead.
Unfortunately, Matheus Nunes looked to have blown a potential clean sheet for City, as he committed a foul on Hugo Ekitike to give away a penalty. Despite this, the hosts remained four goals in front, with Trafford denying Salah from the spot.
The Reds did what they could to try and make the scoreline more respectable, but in the end it was a really straightforward win for a Man City team who were brilliant on the day.
Full-time: Manchester City 4-0 Liverpool
Man City are through to the FA Cup semi-finals
The Sky Blues have backed up their Carabao Cup triumph over Arsenal with a stunning victory in the FA Cup.
As a result, City have reached the semi-final stage of the competition. The Gunners are a potential opponent for Guardiola’s team, as are Chelsea.
This is interesting, considering these are Man City’s next two opponents in the Premier League. They will travel to Stamford Bridge next Sunday, before hosting Arsenal in a match which will have big implications on the title.
Unsurprisingly, the league will become Guardiola’s biggest priority for the next couple of weeks, but he will certainly have City’s next visit to Wembley on his mind.
