MAN CITY 4-0 LIVERPOOL: An Erling Haaland hat-trick, strike from Antoine Semenyo and missed penalty by Mo Salah made it a miserable day for Liverpool, as they exited the FA Cup
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - APRIL 04: Arne Slot, head coach of Liverpool, acknowledges Virgil van Dijk of Liverpool after the Emirates FA Cup Quarter Final match between Manchester City and Liverpool on April 04, 2026 in Manchester, England. (Photo by James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images)
Liverpool were thrashed at the Etihad(Image: James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images)
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It is a familiar sight in the Etihad technical area. Casually-dressed guy cannot stand still, occasionally dropping his closely-shaven head into his hands in despair. Barely gives the fourth official a moment’s rest.
And up in the stands, next to his daughter Maria, sat Pep Guardiola. The Manchester City manager was so laid-back, he was enjoying Bring Your Kids to Work Day.
Down on the touchline, for Arne Slot, this was a daddy of a defeat. In every rant and every gesture, the despair was painfully clear. What can go wrong for Slot this season HAS gone wrong.
For a good half an hour, the Premier League champions were the more threatening team, Mo Salah missing the pick of a some very presentable half-chances. And when Liverpool have missed chances this season, they have invariably been punished. This time, the punishment was brutal.
This was the first of five games in 15 days for Liverpool - ending with the Merseyside derby on April 19 - that could well decide Slot’s future. The spell could not have got off to a worse start.
First things first, City have rediscovered their peak attacking panache. And Haaland’s hat-trick was peak Haaland. Confident penalty, perfectly-timed run and header, thumping half-volley.
Between the last two, Antoine Semenyo dinked home a finish Haaland would have been proud of. But the quality finishing was accommodated by some defensive work that was alarmingly short of intensity. In fact, this entire Liverpool performance was alarmingly short of intensity.
That is what will concern Slot’s bosses, that is what does not bode well for the immediate challenge in Paris, that is what does not bode well for the fight for a Champions League finishing place, that is what does not bode well for the manager’s future. To highlight the number of opportunities Liverpool created in defeat would be clutching at the flimsiest of straws.
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - APRIL 4: Liverpool Manager Arne Slot during the Emirates FA Cup Quarter Final match between Manchester City and Liverpool on April 4, 2026 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Shaun Brooks - CameraSport via Getty Images)
Arne Slot's job could well be on the line(Image: Shaun Brooks - CameraSport via Getty Images)
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This is becoming a shell of a Premier League-winning team. Salah’s misses summed up their performance. Lacking in conviction. Announcing his end-of-season departure, Salah billed his emotional social media message/video as the first part of his farewell.
He cannot have scripted the second part of his farewell to involve missing a couple of sitters and having a penalty saved by James Trafford. That would only have given Liverpool the most insignificant of consolations but Salah’s error-strewn contribution typified Liverpool’s day.
It is fair to say that his fellow veteran, Virgil van Dijk, fared little better, conceding City’s breakthrough penalty and half a yard off the pace in both a physical and mental sense. But Salah and Van Dijk were not the only culpable ones.
To a man, their response to the setback of Haaland’s spot-kick opener was deeply unsatisfactory. Again, they were more than competitive for that first half an hour or so but as soon as Van Dijk has fouled Nico O’Reilly to give Haaland his first, they were finished.
And after each and every City goal, there were no recriminations in red ranks. Nor were there any shows of defiance or signs of motivation. They accepted their fate once Haaland doubled the lead just before half-time. And even more worryingly for the Liverpool hierarchy, there were no recriminations or signs of defiance amongst the travelling fans.
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - APRIL 04: Mohamed Salah of Liverpool rlooks dejected during the Emirates FA Cup Quarter Final match between Manchester City and Liverpool on April 04, 2026 in Manchester, England. (Photo by James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images)
Mo Salah's penalty miss summed up the day(Image: James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images)
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They had also accepted their fate long before Semenyo made it three and Haaland four and Salah missed his penalty. And that provided the sad, portentous sight of Slot shaking hands with Michael Oliver - who had felt sorry for Liverpool and played the grand total of four seconds added time - and then making his way over to the away fans.
Of the 8,000 who had made the trip, there must have been 800 left. Tops.
Guardiola celebrated in his seat and Slot applauded an empty stand. If this is the start of a fortnight of reckoning, it could not have got off to a worse start.