Norwegian Erling Haaland, with a hat-trick, secured Manchester City's place in the FA Cup semi-finals by eliminating Liverpool (4-0), allowing Pep Guardiola to dream of a second title this season. The Nordic forward made up for his last few months, which were not particularly brilliant for a player of his caliber, with a treble to defeat the 'Reds' and further question Arne Slot, who now only has the Champions League left to save the season. Despite a good start in which Liverpool could have taken the lead with a couple of shots from Dominik Szoboszlai and Hugo Ekitike, City went ahead just before halftime when Virgil Van Dijk fouled Nico O'Reilly inside the area, and referee Michael Oliver pointed to the penalty spot. From the spot, Haaland made amends for the penalty he missed this season against Mamardashvili himself and put his team ahead, to then seal the minutes later. Antoine Semenyo, with a good run to the byline, put a direct cross to the head of Haaland, who did not miss it. At the end of the first half, Liverpool was clinging to the dream of an epic comeback, but City took care of it as soon as they returned from the break. Semenyo changed from provider to scorer to make it 3-0 to complete the party for the Sky Blues, who three weeks ago seemed destined for a trophyless season and now are confident of at least a double. After winning the Carabao Cup against Arsenal, they are two games away from lifting the FA Cup and with renewed confidence in fighting for the Premier League to the end against Arsenal and without the distraction of the Champions League. To make Slot's afternoon even worse, Egyptian Mohamed Salah, in his first appearance since announcing he will leave at the end of the season, missed a penalty when the score was already 4-0. Haaland also completed his hat-trick and seems to be in his best form for the final stretch of the season and for the World Cup. This Saturday, Chelsea against Port Vale and Arsenal against Southampton will also be seeking their place in the semi-finals.
