Norwegian Erling Haaland scored a hat-trick as Manchester City thrashed Liverpool 4-0 at the Etihad Stadium in the FA Cup semi-finals, while Southampton stunned Arsenal 2-1 to knock the record-holders out.
Liverpool played well in the opening half-hour with Mohamed Salah wasting an early chance, but once Haaland had scored from the spot in the 37th minute after a foul on Nico O’Reilly their resistance crumbled.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk conceded the penalty with a rash challenge, and there was little the Dutch defender could do as City played scintillating attacking football for the remainder of the game.
Haaland scored his second two minutes into first-half stoppage time with a well-placed header from an excellent Antoine Semenyo cross.
Ghanaian International Semenyo got on the scoresheet himself five minutes after the break, latching on to a ball in behind from Rayan Cherki and chipping it beautifully past Giorgi Mamardashvili. 3-0!
The clinical Haaland then completed his hat-trick with a shot off the underside of the crossbar in the 57th minute.
“First half, we struggled a bit, but then after around 30 minutes we kept going and in the end it’s an amazing game. Another Wembley trip for us is amazing and important,” Haaland said.
“I think (my form this season) has been a bit too much up and down, which is not good enough. I cannot keep on thinking about what I could have done differently or what didn’t happen, or what happened. I have to think about the next game.”
Southampton 2-1 Arsenal
Second-tier side Southampton stunned Arsenal after a 2-1 victory in their FA Cup quarter-final clash, courtesy of Shea Charles’ strike five minutes from fulltime, which secured the famous win at St Mary’s Stadium.
Southampton took the lead on 35 minutes through Ross Stewart, but Arsenal were level midway through the second half when Viktor Gyokeres equalised. The Premier League leaders looked the most likely winners from there.
- Read more: Manchester City To Face Liverpool In FA Cup
However with the clock running down, a quick break from Southampton created the chance for Charles, who could not miss from 12 yards as he poked the ball past goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.
The result heaped more misery on Arsenal, who were defeated in the League Cup final by Manchester City in their last match.
And now Arsenal bows out of a competition they have won a record 14 times.
“There are no excuses for tonight,” Arsenal midfielder Christian Norgaard said. “It has nothing to do with injuries or availability.”
“We had a really good team on the pitch that should have been competing on a high level. We need to pick ourselves up. We have two big competitions left to compete in.”
Saturday’s FA Cup results
Manchester City 4-0 Liverpool
Chelsea 7-0 Port Vale
Southampton 2-1 Arsenal.