By Steve Northover
Liverpool exit the FA cup as they suffered a 4-0 defeat at the hands of a dominant Manchester City side at the Etihad.
Liverpool started on the front foot and created several early chances. Mo Salah was presented with a clear opportunity after goalkeeper Mamardashvili found the Egyptian with a long ball, but his effort was stopped by a recovering defender before he could find the finish.
The visitors maintained attacking pressure during the early stages, but were unable to find a breakthrough. As the first half progressed, Manchester City grew into the contest and began to establish their control on the game.
Their breakthrough came when Nico O’Reilly was brought down inside the penalty area by Virgil van Dijk. Haaland stepped up and converted the resulting penalty to give City a 1–0 lead.
City extended their advantage before halftime. Antoine Semenyo delivered a cross into the box, which Haaland met with a header that found the far corner, doubling the lead and putting the hosts in a strong position heading into the break.
Liverpool failed to respond in the second half as City added a third goal within five minutes of the restart. Semenyo turned scorer on this occasion, finishing after breaking beyond the defensive line.
The home side continued to control the tempo of the match, limiting Liverpool’s ability to create further chances. City's Norwegian striker completed his hat-trick later in the second half, finishing a move involving Rayan Cherki to make it 4–0.
Manchester City continued to maintain structure and possession, seeing out the match without conceding. Liverpool, despite their early opportunities, were unable to convert chances or cause any trouble to the City defense.
The result sees Manchester City advance to the FA Cup semi finals, while Liverpool exit the competition without registering a goal on the afternoon.
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