Manchester City have booked their place in the semi-finals of the FA Cup after seeing off Liverpool in the quarter-final at the Etihad Stadium.
Fresh from lifting the Carabao Cup with victory over Arsenal in the final, Pep Guardiola‘s side carry a renewed belief that more silverware could follow this season.
Man City‘s firepower in front of goal appears to be returning, having scored a combined six goals in their last two matches against Arsenal and Liverpool.
Erling Haaland returned to his devastating best with a hat-trick on Friday, ending a frustrating run of form in front of goal.
After an initial flurry of attacks from Liverpool, City took control of possession and were soon rewarded. In the 36th minute, Virgil van Dijk fouled Nico O’Reilly inside the box, giving away a penalty.
Haaland converted the penalty, sending Giorgi Mamardashvili the wrong way to give City the lead.
The Citizens doubled their lead just before half-time. Rayan Cherki slipped a pass to Antoine Semenyo in the right half-space, who delivered a brilliant cross for Haaland to head home his second.
Cherki was the architect once again just after the break, threading a pass between Ibrahim Konate and van Dijk for Semenyo, who calmly chipped the goalkeeper to make it three.
In the 53rd minute, Semenyo picked up the ball inside his own half and spotted Mamardashvili off his line. The forward attempted an audacious effort from distance that sailed over the goalkeeper and nestled into the roof of the net.
Jeremy Doku took on Konate in the 56th minute before slipping a pass between the Frenchman and Joe Gomez for the underlapping O’Reilly.
The youngster smartly cut the ball back for Haaland, who had intelligently held his run, allowing the Norwegian to score into a virtually empty net.
The last significant moment of the match came from City goalkeeper James Trafford, who guessed correctly and saved Mohamed Salah‘s penalty, which had been conceded by a clumsy Matheus Nunes foul.
It was yet another dominant display from the Citizens, who despite having less possession, controlled the match and booked their place in the semi-finals of the FA Cup.
But what are the four things we learnt from this match? Let us have a look.
Erling Haaland rediscovers his scoring touch
Haaland looks refreshed after the international break, and it now feels as though his earlier struggles were simply down to fatigue.
In recent matches, the Norwegian appeared lost, staying rooted inside the box during attacks. Today, however, he was constantly dropping deep to get involved in the build-up play.
That intelligent movement is exactly how he scored his third goal not through physicality, but by finding space with a clever run.
Haaland’s return to goalscoring form will give Man City a huge boost heading into the run-in, where they must win every remaining match to stay in the title race and hope that Arsenal drop points along the way.
A blossoming partnership
Amid the constant rotation within the squad, a budding connection is forming between Cherki and Semenyo.
The pair combined to devastating effect in this match, with Cherki’s vision teeing up Semenyo to deliver the cross for Haaland’s second goal.
Cherki also teed up Semenyo for his goal in this match, a moment that showcased both of their strengths, a perfectly weighted pass met by a clinical finish over the goalkeeper.
Cherki brings flair, chance creation and creativity, while Semenyo offers directness, pace, and deadly ball-striking.
This combination could prove vital in the final weeks of the season, where Man City will need a high volume of chance creation alongside a reliable source of goals.
James Trafford too good for the bench
City have been fortunate with their options in goal in recent seasons, from Ederson and Stefan Ortega to the current pairing of Gianluigi Donnarumma and Trafford.
However, the current situation is slightly different. Ortega understood his role as understudy to Ederson, whereas Trafford was signed to be City’s first-choice goalkeeper this season.
Days later, Paris Saint-Germain‘s Donnarumma arrived, and a goalkeeper of his calibre was never going to accept a place on the bench, not after establishing himself as one of the finest in the world over several years.
Trafford has proved time and again that he is too good to sit on the bench. In the Carabao Cup final, he produced a stunning triple save in the opening minutes to keep City in the match.
Trafford was equally impressive in this match, not just with his shot-stopping but also with his distribution. He made five saves, four of which came from efforts inside the box, while also completing 92 per cent of his passes in his own half.
It was a commanding performance from a goalkeeper supposedly playing second fiddle.
The return to a familiar shape
After experimenting with a 4-2-2-2 shape for much of the season, deploying two number eights behind a front two, the Citizens have reverted to their more familiar 4-2-3-1.
Out of possession, City set up in a 4-4-2. Initially, the press was not particularly high, similar to the approach taken against Arsenal.
However, Liverpool posed a different challenge. Salah and Hugo Ekiteke positioned themselves in wide areas during the initial build-up, which made them far more difficult to defend against.
Against Arsenal, City’s front four had cut off passing lanes into the Arsenal backline and midfield, forcing Kepa Arrizabalaga to go long. That suited Abdukodir Khusanov and Marc Guehi, whose central starting positions made it easier to win the resulting aerial duels.
Liverpool’s use of width stretched that compact shape and nullified the advantage City had enjoyed in the previous match.
Soon enough, however, the tweak was made and the press became far more intense, denying Mamardashvili the time to pick out accurate long balls.