Haaland hat-trick propels Man City to 4-0 win
Erling Haaland’s 18-minute hat trick powered Manchester City to a 4-0 win over Liverpool and into the FA Cup semifinals for a record eighth straight season on Saturday. Mohamed Salah’s failure from the penalty spot added to the woes of Liverpool, whose meltdown at Etihad Stadium will put more heat on under-pressure manager Arne Slot.
Haaland converted a penalty in the 39th minute, headed home a cross from Antoine Semenyo in first-half stoppage time, and swept in a finish off the crossbar in the 57th to score his first hat trick of the season for City and 12th since he joined the club in 2022.
Semenyo scored the other goal in the 50th for City, which was playing its first match since winning the English League Cup two weeks ago by beating Arsenal in the final at Wembley Stadium. City will be heading back there later this month for the FA Cup semis.
“This club has to win trophies,” said Haaland, who was described after the game as a “machine” by City assistant coach Pep Lijnders — deputizing in the dugout while Pep Guardiola served a touchline suspension.
Salah, who announced during the international break he’s leaving Liverpool after nine trophy-filled seasons, was beginning his long goodbye to the Reds but couldn’t mark it with a goal.
The best of the many chances he spurned came from a penalty, which City goalkeeper James Trafford palmed away in the 64th.
It was a record 18th straight home win for City in the FA Cup, dating to 2017. Guardiola’s team shared a record with Clapham Rovers for reaching seven consecutive FA Cup finals but now holds it outright.
Many Liverpool fans were seen leaving the stadium after the fourth City goal.
“The fighting spirit wasn’t there enough, the mentality wasn’t there enough,” Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai said.
“None of us were there to be honest as much as we could. “It’s a hard time but we have to stick together.”
Chelsea dispatches Port Vale: Like City, Chelsea romped to a big win in the quarterfinals — though this one was expected.
Playing without Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez for disciplinary reasons, Chelsea still had more than enough to dispatch third-tier Port Vale 7-0 at Stamford Bridge.
Jorrel Hato, Joao Pedro, Tosin Adarabioyo, Andrey Santos, Estevao and Alejandro Garnacho scored for Chelsea, along with an own-goal. Chelsea has won the FA Cup eight times, most recently in 2018.
Arsenal also in action: Arsenal visited second-tier Southampton in the late game on Saturday. The draw for the semifinals takes place on Sunday after West Ham hosts Leeds in the final match in the last eight.
