Mohamed Salah celebrating behind Manchester City. (Image: Getty)
Manchester City booked a trip to Wembley thanks to a 4-0 win over Liverpool at the Etihad, courtesy of a hat-trick from Erling Haaland. Virgil van Dijk fouled Nico O’Reilly inside the area and sent substitute goalkeeper Giorgi Mamadashvili the wrong way from 12 yards out, giving the home team the lead from the penalty spot.
The Norwegian combined well with Rayan Cherki and Antoine Semenyo just before half-time, with the latter’s cross headed into the back of the net by Haaland for City’s second goal. The two midfielders linked up again shortly after the restart, with Semenyo sinking the ball past the goalkeeper, leaving the result of the FA Cup quarter-finals in no doubt.
O’Reilly pulled away from Joe Gomez with a free-flowing move and Haaland scored the top goal, completing his hat-trick with the goal before Mohamed Salah missed a penalty to begin his walk-off tour.
Here, Express Sport takes a look at the Liverpool players’ ratings from the quarter-finals…
Liverpool player rating (4-2-2-2)
He will fill that role for at least the next few games, replacing the injured Alisson. He created a chance for Salah in the 14th minute with a perfect long ball, and his passing was pinpoint throughout. Haaland took a penalty and there was little he could do about any of the goals.
He played well against Jeremy Doku, initially creating several chances with deft crosses, but then messed up the throw that led to City’s third goal, before setting up the fourth by allowing O’Reilly to pass him in the penalty area.
He was a little wayward with his passing and was beaten with a header by Haaland, giving him the second goal.
He was spotted by Gomez in the penalty area and should have taken a shot, but instead of swinging his left foot, he opted for a backheel and immediately brought down O’Reilly, clumsily giving away a penalty. He then let Haaland run free to complete a hat-trick on a miserable afternoon for his captain.
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It may have been a little lucky that City’s protest was overruled by VAR and they were not awarded a penalty for tripping Cherki inside the penalty area. They struggled to cope with French players and Semenyo attacking on the flanks.
They received an early yellow which hampered City’s ability to stop the attack. The home side were able to press on once Liverpool took the lead, but Gravenberg offered little protection.
In the first game, he led Liverpool’s press, which has received much criticism this season, on several occasions and won the ball back into City’s half to great effect. But while the boil subsided after City’s goal, he wasn’t alone in that regard.
Erling Haaland’s hat-trick clinched this FA Cup quarter-final. (Image: Getty)
This season, he struggled to prove his authority in the game as usual.
Liverpool’s brightest brilliance and creator who benefited immensely from the free role. If you watch the first half and days like this, it becomes clear why he was valued at £116 million by Liverpool. Unfortunately for the German player, his performances could not be backed up by the rest of the team until City took over.
At Ekitike he played as a split striker, with both forwards sitting very wide and the midfield occupying the central area. Salah had a great chance to break the deadlock with a counterattack, but his line wavered in front of goal. They missed two chances in the second half and ended the day with a penalty that Trafford easily saved.
His partnership with Wirtz deepened as the match progressed, and the pair created some smart chances early on. Ekitike showed some very deft touches, completely disrupting Rodri in the middle of the pitch and pulling Kerkes away. The only thing missing today was a goal, but if it had been scored before Haaland’s opener, things might have changed. Salah cleverly won a penalty, but the Egyptian missed.
Jeremy Frimpong (62′) – 6
Frimpong came on, potentially a pre-planned substitution, to give Gomez some rest but was unable to provoke Ngmoha and a darting attack down the right flank.
Salah moved into the middle and injected urgency into the right flank.
A quiet cameo by the Dutchman.
Alexis Mac Allister (68′) – 7
Liverpool allowed themselves to regain some control and possession, but were already 4-0 down when the Argentine stepped onto the pitch.
Federico Chiesa (77′) – 6
He came on in place of Salah, but was unable to make a big impact.
