Erling Haaland hits hat-trick as Manchester City thrash Liverpool to reach FA Cup semis

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Only 57 minutes were gone yet City were cruising at 4-0 and Arne Slot’s men were being schooled.Haaland’s third, in which Jérémy Doku and Nico O’Reilly walked the ball through Liverpool before the No 9 hooked in off the bar, epitomised the patheticalness that set in with the striker’s 39th-minute penalty opener.Until then those in red went toe-to-toe with their hosts, Hugo Ekitiké (twice) and Mohamed Salah spurning chances they had to take. Yet after the break the chronically impotent Salah missed two more, early chances, before failing where Haaland prospered – from the spot: at 4-0 down, the Egyptian steered the ball to James Trafford’s left, City’s goalkeeper parried, and Liverpool’s misery deepened further.The beleaguered Slot knows the heaviest defeat handed to his Liverpool will damage his job prospects because next up is Wednesday’s date at the European champions, Paris Saint-Germain; if they go down in similar manner in the Champions League quarter-final, then the owners may have a decision to make.Erling Haaland scores Manchester City’s fourth goal to complete his hat-trick.

Next, Dominik Szoboszlai spun a free-kick on to Ibrahima Konaté’s head and Trafford saved.Guardiola, in a posh seat because of a two-game touchline ban, instructed his front four of Antoine Semenyo, Rayan Cherki, Haaland and Doku to press high when Giorgi Mamardashvili restarted from Liverpool’s goal.City’s was a familiar 4-2-3-1, Liverpool’s a curio of a nominal 4-4-2, with Ekitiké and Salah as a split pairing and Wirtz invited to join them centrally.Perhaps Slot’s thinking was seen when a downfield Mamardashvili punt put Salah in on the left; from close in his effort was deflected to safety by Abdukodir Khusanov.At this point the contest had a background of a wall of noise and when Cherki feinted in Liverpool’s area and went down as Milos Kerkez challenged him, City’s scream for a penalty further upped the febrile atmosphere.Now came Ekitiké crashing the ball over after Rodri handed it to him, and this would haunt the Frenchman. As did Virgil van Dijk’s miss when Joe Gomez’s flighted delivery landed at the captain’s feet plum before Trafford’s posts: instead of pulling the trigger he turned possession back, and City escaped.What came next was even poorer from Van Dijk.

Haaland beat Mamardashvili to the keeper’s left and he greeted his goal with a playful kick of the right corner flag.Haaland’s second, in first-half added time, closed a sweet City sequence. The Ghanaian’s cross was flicked by Haaland into Mamardashvili right side-netting and it was 2-0 City, Oliver blowing for the refreshments seconds later.Liverpool were impotent, Salah’s first appearance since announcing his departure close to a nonevent.