Mohamed Salah missed a penalty as Liverpool were thrashed 4-0 by Manchester City in the FA Cup quarter-final at the Etihad Stadium, with Erling Haaland netting a hat-trick to send City to Wembley
15:05, 04 Apr 2026Updated 15:05, 04 Apr 2026
Manchester City v Liverpool - Emirates FA Cup Quarter Final
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Liverpool were ripped to shreds by Manchester City(Image: Getty)
Manchester City secured a Wembley berth following a comprehensive 4-0 thrashing of Liverpool at the Etihad, courtesy of an Erling Haaland hat-trick.
He put the hosts ahead from the penalty spot after Virgil van Dijk brought down Nico O'Reilly inside the box, sending replacement keeper Giorgi Mamardashvili the wrong way from 12 yards.
The Norwegian bagged his and City's second just before the interval when a slick move involving Rayan Cherki and Antoine Semenyo saw the latter's delivery flicked home by Haaland.
Manchester City v Liverpool - Emirates FA Cup Quarter Final
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Erling Haaland's hat-trick decided this FA Cup quarter-final(Image: Getty)
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The pair linked up once more shortly after the break as Semenyo chipped the ball over the goalkeeper to put the FA Cup quarter-final beyond any doubt.
Haaland added the finishing touch when a flowing attack saw O'Reilly escape Joe Gomez's attention, leaving Haaland with an open goal to complete his treble before Mohamed Salah began his farewell tour with a squandered penalty.
Here,Daily Star Sport runs through our Liverpool player ratings from the quarter-final...
Giorgi Mamardashvili, 6 - Standing in for the injured Alisson, a role he will take on for at least the next few matches. He crafted an opportunity for Salah on the 14th minute with a superb long ball and his distribution was spot-on throughout. Defeated from the penalty spot by Haaland and there was nothing he could do about any of the goals, reports the Express.
Joe Gomez, 4 - Performed admirably against Jeremy Doku and fashioned a couple of opportunities with astute deliveries early on, but botched a throw-in that contributed to City's third strike before allowing O'Reilly to glide past him in the box to tee up a fourth.
Ibrahima Konate, 5 - Rather erratic with his distribution and was beaten by Haaland to the header for his second strike.
Virgil van Dijk, 4 - Carelessly conceded a penalty by fouling O'Reilly, just moments after he ought to have pulled the trigger when picked out in the area by Gomez, but opted to backheel instead of using his left boot. Subsequently allowed Haaland to break free and seal his hat-trick on a dreadful afternoon for the skipper.
Milos Kerkez, 5 - Possibly rather lucky not to have conceded a spot-kick for bringing down Cherki in the penalty box, though VAR dismissed City's appeals. Found it difficult to cope with the Frenchman and Semenyo linking up down his side.
Ryan Gravenberch, 4 - Collected an early booking which restricted his capacity to disrupt City's offensive moves. The hosts were able to cruise through Liverpool once they seized the advantage, with Gravenberch providing minimal defensive cover.
Curtis Jones, 6 - On multiple occasions during the opening period spearheaded Liverpool's pressing game, which has faced considerable criticism this campaign, regaining possession in City's territory to excellent effect. However, his influence waned as City's goals flowed, though he wasn't the only one to suffer in that respect.
Dominik Szoboszlai, 5 - Failed to impose his usual dominance on proceedings this campaign.
Florian Wirtz, 7 - Liverpool's most impressive performer and their chief orchestrator, who thrived in his liberated role immensely. A joy to observe during the opening period and displays like this demonstrate why he commanded a £116million valuation from Liverpool. Regrettably for the German, his showing couldn't be matched by his teammates before City seized control.
Mohamed Salah, 4 - Deployed as twin strikers alongside Ekitike, which positioned both forwards out wide while the midfield occupied central zones. Salah was presented with a golden chance to open the scoring on the break, but spurned his opportunity when through on goal. He squandered two further openings after the interval and his afternoon was epitomised by a spot-kick that was comfortably kept out by Trafford.
Hugo Ekitike, 7 - His understanding with Wirtz continues developing with each outing and the pair fashioned some clever early openings. Ekitike produced several exquisite touches, including one that completely foxed Rodri in midfield and released Kerkez. All that was lacking today was a goal, which might have shifted momentum had it materialised before Haaland's breakthrough. Cleverly earned a penalty for Salah but the Egyptian blazed wide.
Jeremy Frimpong (62'), 6 - Possibly a pre-arranged substitution, but Frimpong entered to offer Gomez some relief, though couldn't spark any surging runs down the right alongside Ngumoha.
Rio Ngumoha (68'), 6 - Provided a burst of energy down the right wing as Salah drifted infield.
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Cody Gakpo (68'), 5 - A subdued appearance from the Dutchman.
Alexis Mac Allister (68'), 7 - Enabled Liverpool to regain some dominance and ball retention but they were already 4-0 behind by the time the Argentine entered the fray.
Federico Chiesa (77'), 6 - Replaced Salah but was unable to influence proceedings significantly.