Manchester City 4-0 Liverpool — FA Cup Quarter-Final, Etihad Stadium
Manchester City were ruthless. Erling Haaland scored a hat-trick, Antoine Semenyo added a fourth, and Liverpool were sent home with nothing as City booked their place in the FA Cup semi-finals with a performance that underlined just how wide the gap between these two sides has grown in 2026.
FORMATIONS AND LINEUPS
City lined up in a 4-2-3-1 with James Trafford in goal behind a back four of Matheus Nunes, Abdukodir Khusanov, Marc Guehi and Nico O'Reilly. Rodri and Bernardo Silva anchored the double pivot, with Antoine Semenyo, Rayan Cherki and Jeremy Doku operating across the attacking midfield line behind Haaland. Pep Guardiola watched from the stands, completing a two-match touchline ban for accumulating yellow cards. His assistant Pepijn Lijnders managed the team from the technical area — a cruel subplot given this was Lijnders returning to face his former club Liverpool, where he served as Jurgen Klopp's right-hand man for years.
Liverpool set up in a matching 4-2-3-1. Giorgi Mamardashvili started in goal with Alisson Becker still recovering from a muscle injury. Joe Gomez and Ibrahima Konate partnered Virgil van Dijk in central defence, with Milos Kerkez at left back. Ryan Gravenberch and Curtis Jones screened in the double pivot. Mohamed Salah started on the right side of the attacking three — his first appearance since announcing he will leave Liverpool at the end of the season — with Dominik Szoboszlai in the ten role, Florian Wirtz on the left, and Hugo Ekitike as the lone striker.
City were missing John Stones (calf), Ruben Dias (hamstring) and Josko Gvardiol (tibial fracture). Liverpool were without Alisson Becker, Conor Bradley, Giovanni Leoni, Wataru Endo and Jeremie Frimpong.
FIRST HALF — CITY TAKE CONTROL LATE
The opening 30 minutes were deceptively even. Liverpool pressed with energy and created moments on the counter. Salah found himself through on goal early and looked certain to score but screwed his effort wide with Khusanov closing in. Ekitike also missed the target from inside the box. City had the better of possession without truly threatening until Rodri drew a yellow card for pulling back Ekitike on the counter — a sign of the danger Liverpool were carrying through the Norwegian and the French striker.
The game turned in the 39th minute. Nico O'Reilly drove into the box and van Dijk mistimed his sliding challenge, catching the City midfielder from behind. Penalty, given immediately by Michael Oliver. Haaland sent Mamardashvili the wrong way, slotting into the bottom right corner.
City then killed the half with a second goal in stoppage time. Semenyo drove forward on the right, picking out a precise cross into the box that Haaland met with a glancing header, getting in front of Konate to guide the ball into the far corner. Liverpool, who had only won two of their 17 matches this season in which they conceded first, suddenly had a mountain to climb.
SECOND HALF — HAALAND COMPLETES THE DEMOLITION
City were relentless after the break. Semenyo made it 3-0 in the 53rd minute after a flowing move in which Cherki played a sumptuous ball in behind the Liverpool defence for the Ghanaian to clip a first-time finish beyond Mamardashvili.
Haaland completed his hat-trick in the 58th minute. O'Reilly drove into the box on the left, cut back to Haaland, whose first-time shot cannoned off the underside of the crossbar and into the net. City's fourth. The Etihad erupted. Guardiola watched from the stand as the City fans broke into the Poznan celebration.
Liverpool's misery was summed up by what followed. Nunes clipped Ekitike in the box and the referee pointed to the spot. Salah, Liverpool's departing icon and the man who most needed a moment of magic, stepped up — and James Trafford guessed correctly to make a comfortable save diving to his right. It was the defining image of Liverpool's afternoon.
KEY TACTICAL OBSERVATIONS
City's double pivot of Rodri and Bernardo Silva was the engine of everything. Rodri, back to something approaching his best after his injury-interrupted season, controlled the tempo completely in the first half and was only booked after a cynical foul when Liverpool threatened on the break. Bernardo Silva's movement between the lines created constant problems for Liverpool's 4-2-3-1, which could never establish a clear press.
Liverpool's structural issue was in the relationship between Gravenberch and Jones in the pivot. Neither is a natural defensive midfielder and City's front three of Semenyo, Cherki and Doku exploited the space behind the Liverpool midfield repeatedly. Semenyo in particular caused Kerkez constant problems down City's right.
Haaland's movement was exceptional. His first goal was pure composure from the spot. His second was the clever striker's header — reading Semenyo's cross before Konate could react. His third was precision finishing off a cutback. Three goals, three entirely different types. This was his 12th hat-trick for Manchester City.
The absence of Alisson Becker was significant. Mamardashvili is a capable goalkeeper but lacked Alisson's command of his area and the confidence that comes with being the first choice. The second goal, where Haaland beat Konate to a cross, was the kind of situation Alisson typically organises better.
Lijnders managed City with composure despite the emotional weight of facing Liverpool. His substitutions — bringing on Savinho and Nico Gonzalez to manage minutes, then Phil Foden and Reijnders — were sensible and showed no sentimentality about the opponent.
WHAT IT MEANS
City advance to the FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley, where they will be joined by the winners of Southampton vs Arsenal, Chelsea vs Port Vale and West Ham vs Leeds. They have now beaten Liverpool three times this season, lost just once in their last ten, and are the favourites to complete a domestic cup double having already won the EFL Cup with Nico O'Reilly's double in the final before the international break.
For Liverpool, this is another painful chapter in a season defined by inconsistency, injuries and dressing room noise. They have now lost their last four away games. Arne Slot faces his biggest test of the season in the next ten days — the PSG Champions League quarter-final first leg arrives on Wednesday. Salah's first game back ended with a missed penalty and an FA Cup exit. The clock is ticking on his Liverpool career.