Erling Haaland bagged a stunning treble as Manchester City recorded a dominant 4-0 win over Liverpool in the FA Cup quarterfinal on Saturday afternoon.
The Norwegian, who had endured a dip in form in recent weeks, was at his devastating best as the Cityzens reached the last four of the competition for a record-extending eighth consecutive season.
Manchester City had won both of their meetings in the Premier League this season and were favourites once again, coming off the back of an impressive 2-0 win to win the EFL Cup final over Arsenal.
Liverpool, meanwhile, endured another difficult outing as they were ousted 2-1 by Brighton before the international break.
Both aides had attempts to open the scoring, but the best of the bunch fell to Mohamed Salah who was out through on goal by a long ball from Giorgi Mamardashvili, but he took too many touches and allowed Khusanov to recover and make a block.
Man City had a penalty appeal waved away, but were not denied a second time after a foul on Nico O’Reilly by Virgil Van Dijk inside the area.
Haaland stepped up and calmly converted to put his side ahead, before heading home a second in first half stoppage-time after good work from Rayan Cherki and Antoine Semenyo.
Cherki then put Semenyo through on goal to score a third after the break, before Haaland completed his hat-trick after a pass from O’Reilly.
Matheus Nunes then fouled Hugo Ekitike, giving Liverpool a chance to score, but Salah fluffed his attempt which was saved by James Trafford.
The game ended 4-0 in favour of the home side, who continued their unbeaten home record in the competition under Pep Guardiola and marched on to the last four once again.
Manchester City will find out their opponent in the semifinal when the draw is conducted on Sunday and will be hoping to win the title this time around after missing out in the final of the last edition to Crystal Palace.
Olakitan is a young writer with a strong passion for sports, having gained experience with IndyPress and Nimelssa Press. His enthusiasm for sports inspired him to cover events both within his school and beyond. With a deep understanding of the game and a refined skillset, he brings sports coverage to a broad, global audience in a way that’s engaging and accessible.
