Erling Haaland and Rayan Cherki shone as Manchester City defeated Liverpool 4-0 n the FA Cup quarter-final.
It was an open start to the match with chances for Mohamed Salah and Hugo Ekitike for Liverpool, while Jeremy Doku sent an early effort wide for City. The Blues also thought they should have been awarded a penalty when Rayan Cherki went down in the box under pressure from Milos Kerkez.
City did get a penalty when Nico O'Reilly was fouled in the box by Virgil Van Dijk, and Erling Haaland made no mistake from the spot as he fired into the bottom corner. The goal swung the match in City's favour and they doubled their lead on the stroke of half-time when Haaland headed in emphatically from an excellent Antoine Semenyo cross.
The Blues came out of the blocks flying after the restart and soon had a third when Semenyo latched onto Cherki's pass and lifted the ball beyond Giorgi Mamardashvili. It wasn't long before things got even better when O'Reilly set up Haaland for his hat-trick to put the result beyond any doubt.
Liverpool were handed a lifeline when they were awarded a penalty, only for James Trafford to cap a fine performance with a good stop to deny Mohamed Salah from the spot.
Here is how we rated the City players in the Liverpool win:
Another impressive performance in the City goal. He read the game well and ended attacks. A good stop to deny Salah from the spot.
1. James Trafford - 8
Another impressive performance in the City goal. He read the game well and ended attacks. A good stop to deny Salah from the spot. | AFP via Getty Images
Got forward well and sent an effort at goal. Excellent link-up play on the right wing throughout the match. No complaints when he conceded a penalty.
2. Matheus Nunes - 6.5
Got forward well and sent an effort at goal. Excellent link-up play on the right wing throughout the match. No complaints when he conceded a penalty. | Getty Images
Good recovery work to deny Salah in what was another impressive performance from start to finish.
3. Abdukodir Khusanov - 8
Good recovery work to deny Salah in what was another impressive performance from start to finish. | Getty Images
A good piece of defending to prevent a corner early on. He was rarely troubled at the back as City secured a comfortable win.
4. Marc Guehi - 7.5
A good piece of defending to prevent a corner early on. He was rarely troubled at the back as City secured a comfortable win. | Getty Images