Manchester City delivered a dominant performance to defeat Liverpool and secure a record-extending eighth consecutive FA Cup semi-final appearance.
The star of the night was Erling Haaland, who returned to top form with a clinical hat-trick that underlined City’s attacking strength and ruthless efficiency.
Despite manager Pep Guardiola watching from the stands due to a touchline ban, City showed no signs of slowing down. The reigning champions dismantled a lacklustre Liverpool side, piling more pressure on their manager, Arne Slot.
City had earlier lifted the Carabao Cup after beating Arsenal at Wembley, and this latest victory keeps them firmly on course for a domestic cup double.
After a relatively quiet start, the breakthrough came in the 38th minute when Haaland calmly converted a penalty following a foul by Virgil van Dijk on Nico O’Reilly.
The Norwegian striker doubled City’s lead just before half-time, rising to head home from a well-delivered cross by Antoine Semenyo.
Liverpool, despite showing flashes of promise early on, particularly through Florian Wirtz failed to make their chances count.
Mohamed Salah, making his first appearance since announcing he would leave the club at the end of the season, endured a frustrating outing. He missed a key opportunity when through on goal and later saw his penalty saved by goalkeeper James Trafford.
Further chances also went begging, including a miss from Hugo Ekitike, as Liverpool struggled to find a cutting edge.
City, by contrast, were clinical. Semenyo added a third early in the second half with a composed finish before Haaland completed his hat-trick to wrap up an emphatic win.
The result sends Manchester City comfortably into the semi-finals once again, reinforcing their dominance in domestic cup competitions under Guardiola.
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