Beth Lindop
CloseBeth Lindop
Correspondent Based in Liverpool, Beth Lindop is ESPN’s Liverpool correspondent and also covers the WSL and UWCL.
and
Rob Dawson
Multiple Authors
Apr 4, 2026, 10:26 AM ET
Manchester City cruised into the FA Cup semifinals with a 4-0 demolition of Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium.
Erling Haaland got a hat trick and Antoine Semenyo also found the net as Pep Guardiola’s side booked their place in the last four for a record eighth year in a row.
All City’s goals came in a blistering 18-minute spell either side of half-time.
Liverpool’s miserable day was summed up by Mohamed Salah in his first game since announcing his summer departure from Anfield. The Egypt forward missed two good chances and then saw a second-half penalty saved by James Trafford.
The result was the perfect way for City to start a crucial run of fixtures with key Premier League clashes against Chelsea and Arsenal to come in the next two weeks.
Liverpool, meanwhile, will have to dust themselves off quickly as they prepare for a daunting Champions League trip to holders Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday.
– O’Hanlon: Revealing the Premier League table without set-piece goals– Reranked: Who is the MVP for each of the top Premier League clubs?– Saudi Pro League, MLS or elsewhere: Where could Salah go next?
Haaland shows old sharpness
Haaland’s struggles since the turn of the year are well-documented. He was given what Norway manager Stale Solbakken called “special treatment” during the internationals and asked to play in just one of the two games.
Judging by Saturday’s showing, the extra rest might have done him good. After confidently tucking away a penalty to put City ahead, he looked back to his old self with the way he took his second. Semenyo’s cross was hung up into the penalty area, and Haaland darted across Ibrahima Konaté to glance his header into the corner. He added a third after half-time to record his first City hat trick since August 2024.
The finish for his second goal was textbook Haaland — but it is the type of goal he has found hard to come by since December.
It bodes well for City. Their Champions League exit to Real Madrid has cleared the schedule, and Haaland should benefit from the extra time to recover between games.
If he can rediscover the form he showed before Christmas, then City will have a chance of adding the FA Cup and the Premier League title to the Carabao Cup — already safely in the trophy cabinet after beating title rivals Arsenal. — Rob Dawson
Salah’s farewell tour gets off to dismal start
If this was the start of Salah’s farewell tour, it is fair to assume his final act will not do justice to what has been one of the all-time great Liverpool careers.
There had been an expectation in some quarters that, having announced he will be leaving Anfield at the end of the season, Salah’s final weeks on Merseyside would afford him the chance to play with more freedom and ingenuity. So far, it does not look like that will be the case.
Like many of his Liverpool teammates, Salah started well at the Etihad Stadium, but the first glimpse of his waning powers was provided when he fluffed Liverpool’s first big chance of the game wide to a chorus of jeers from the City fans inside 15 minutes. His fortunes did not improve from there. He sent one curled effort well beyond the post before seeing his penalty saved by Trafford and eventually being substituted.
Having been previously involved in 21 Liverpool goals against City (13 goals and eight assists), Salah has long been a formidable opponent for Guardiola, but his latest ineffectual outing evidenced why a parting of ways this summer may be in the best interests of all parties. — Lindop
Pressure piles on Liverpool boss Slot
Mike Egerton/PA Images via Getty ImagesAs the City players knocked the ball around with embarrassing ease in the second half, the home supporters serenaded Slot with a chorus of: “You’re getting sacked in the morning.”
It is a refrain the Liverpool head coach has grown accustomed to hearing this term as his team’s campaign has veered drastically off course. Earlier in the season, such chants were tongue-in-cheek, but they now feel increasingly ominous for Slot, who oversaw his heaviest defeat as Liverpool boss on Saturday afternoon.
Liverpool’s owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG) have remained firmly behind the Dutchman despite the team’s struggles this season, acknowledging that injuries, squad transition and plain misfortune have all made his task significantly harder. While it is true there has been an enormous amount of mitigation for Liverpool’s poor campaign, the consistently dismal performances and patchy results make it hard to argue a compelling case for Slot to remain in his post for the long-term.
Should Liverpool suffer a similarly humiliating exit in the Champions League, it is difficult to see how he recovers the support of an already disillusioned fanbase. — Lindop
Liverpool no longer ‘mentality monsters’
play2:26
Virgil van Dijk: I feel sorry for the fans after defeat vs. Man City
Virgil van Dijk reflects on Liverpool’s 4-0 defeat to Manchester City in the quarterfinals of the FA Cup.
For Liverpool, this was a familiar story. Having travelled to the Etihad as underdogs, Slot’s side acquitted themselves well in the opening half hour and arguably had the two biggest chances of the game from Salah and Hugo Ekitike.
It felt like the contest was perfectly poised to be a close encounter before Virgil van Dijk‘s clumsy challenge on Nico O’Reilly saw City awarded a penalty. And, from the moment Haaland fired the hosts into the lead, it was clear there was only going to be one winner.
As they have done so often this season, Liverpool wilted in the face of adversity and made their chances of recovery even more bleak when they conceded a second goal in the final seconds of first-half stoppage time. Their further capitulation after the break means they have now won just two of the 19 games in which they have conceded the first goal this season (last season they won seven of 24).
A team once dubbed “mentality monsters” under former manager Jürgen Klopp now appears entirely ill-equipped to deal with any kind of setback. Liverpool’s lack of resilience has already cost them dear this season. Without a drastic improvement in that department, the end of this turbulent campaign could spiral into disaster. — Beth Lindop
Guardiola breaks incredible 150-year FA Cup record
Guardiola is fond of saying he wants “all the records” by the time he finally leaves City, and he just earned himself another one.
His team have now won their last 18 home games in the FA Cup — breaking a record which has stood for nearly 150 years.
Clapham Rovers won 17 home cup ties between December 1873 and February 1881. It was so long ago that Clapham Rovers don’t even exist anymore, having been dissolved in 1914 after the start of the First World War.
Victory over Liverpool also guaranteed an eighth straight semifinal appearance, stretching their own record of seven, which was set last season.
Guardiola’s City haven’t lost an FA Cup tie away from Wembley since they were knocked out at Wigan Athletic in 2018. One more win this season and City will become the first team ever to reach four consecutive FA Cup finals.
Given that he’s also won the Carabao Cup five times, Guardiola’s record in domestic cup competitions during his time in England is phenomenal.
Another trip to Wembley awaits with another chance to make even more history. — Dawson
Haaland hits long-awaited Man City hat trick as pressure piles on Slot NYT News Today.
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