BY OUR BACK PAGE REPORTER I ETIHAD STADIUM
MANCHESTER CITY turned the Etihad into a house of horrors for Liverpool yesterday, as a ruthless Erling Haaland hat-trick spearheaded a 4-0 demolition to book a record eighth successive FA Cup semi-final spot.
On a Saturday afternoon that felt like a changing of the guard, Pep Guardiola’s serial winners didn’t just beat Liverpool—they dismantled them. While the Merseysiders arrived with hope, they left with their tails between their legs, victims of a Norwegian goal-machine who simply refuses to malfunction.
It took 39 minutes for the deadlock to break, but once it did, the floodgates didn’t just open; they burst. Nico O’Reilly, the City starlet who looked every bit a veteran, was hauled down by a desperate Virgil van Dijk. Up stepped Haaland, cool as a Manchester rain shower, to slot the penalty past Giorgi Mamardashvili.
If the first was a gift, the second was a statement. In first-half stoppage time, Antoine Semenyo—who was a thorn in Liverpool’s side all afternoon—floated a cross that Haaland met with the force of a wrecking ball, heading home to make it 2-0.
Arne Slot’s men looked shell-shocked. Any hopes of a second-half comeback were snuffed out just five minutes after the restart. Semenyo turned scorer this time, latching onto a Rayan Cherki chip to dink a sublime finish into the net.
The humiliation was completed in the 57th minute. Haaland, hunting for the match ball, latched onto O’Reilly’s cutback and thrashed a strike off the underside of the bar. It was his 12th City hat-trick and his 28th overall—staggering numbers for a man who treats elite defenders like training cones.
For Mohamed Salah, it was a goodbye to forget. In what was billed as his final Etihad appearance for the Reds, the Egyptian King endured a nightmare. After blazing an early sitter wide, he had the chance to salvage a shred of pride from the penalty spot after Hugo Ekitike was fouled.
But even then, City’s wall held firm. James Trafford guessed right, diving to his left to parry Salah’s effort and ensure the clean sheet remained intact.
The victory marks City’s 18th straight home win in the FA Cup, breaking a record that had stood since 1881. For Liverpool, it is a season turning into a slog; for City, it is another date with destiny at Wembley.
MATCH STATS
Man City 4 (Haaland 39’ pen, 45+2’, 57’; Semenyo 50’)
Liverpool 0
Attendance: 53,222
Man of the Match: Erling Haaland (Man City)