Match Report & Player Ratings: Manchester City 4-0 Liverpool (FA Cup Quarter Final) | OneFootball

Manchester City reached the FA Cup semi-final for a remarkable eighth season in a row with a 4-0 victory over Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

An evenly-matched first-half was changed when Erling Haaland opened the scoring from the penalty spot, freeing City and allowing them to add a second when Rayan Cherki and Antoine Semenyo combined to allow Haaland to head home his second.

There was a party atmosphere in the second-half as Semenyo added a third and Haaland rounded off his hat-trick to pile the pain onto the eliminated Reds, which only increased when James Trafford saved the departing Mohamed Salah‘s penalty.

The opening 10 minutes saw the teams probe without creating any real openings, although the visitors probably had the better of it. City blocked some efforts from the edge before Hugo Ekitike fired wide after a give-and-go with Florian Wirtz.

Salah was serenaded by the travelling Liverpool fans following the announcement that he’ll be leaving in the summer, but the Egyptian ought to have given his side the lead after 15 minutes when he ran onto a Giorgio Mamardashvili long ball. Abdukodir Khusanov put the forward off initially and then put his strike at James Trafford’s goal out for a throw-in.

City bucked up their ideas and were soon howling for a penalty when a bulldozing run from Haaland saw the ball drop for a 50-50 between Cherki and Milos Kerkez. Pep Guardiola, serving a touchline ban and sat in the stands at the Etihad Stadium, couldn’t believe his side weren’t awarded a spot-kick.

Chances came and went for both sides but with §0 minutes to go in the first-half, City did eventually get their penalty when Nico O’Reilly was bundled over in the box by Virgil van Dijk. Mamardashvili denied Haaland from 12 yards in City’s 3-0 Premier League win back in November 2025 but the Norwegian sent the Georgian the wrong way this time for 1-0.

City hadn’t turned up prior to their opening goal but they took control of the first-half thereafter and doubled their advantage just on the stroke of half-time. Cherki’s genius footwork allowed Semenyo to clip in a delicious cross – and Haaland’s brilliant header looped into the far corner to re-ignite the Etihad Stadium.

And within five minutes of the start of the second-half, those two combined again to end the game as a contest. Cherki found space in the final third and spotted Semenyo running off of Ibrahima Konate‘s shoulder, perfectly picking out his teammate and seeing the Ghanaian dink delightfully over Mamardashvili.

The Blues had to remain sharp, Trafford seeing involvement as Salah went through and shot towards the bottom corner, needing City’s cup keeper to turn the ball wide. Semenyo responded by trying to catch Mamardashvili off his line from 55 yards out.

It was exhibition stuff from City by that point and they made it four before the hour mark; a lightning breakaway ended with Jeremy Doku jinking inside and picking out O’Reilly through the eye of a needle – as the Carabao Cup final hero added an assist to his tally by teeing up Haaland to smash in off the bar for his first club hat-trick in over a year.

Not everything went the way of the hosts, with Matheus Nunes‘ foul on Ekitike in the box being penalised for a Liverpool penalty – but a nightmare day for Salah only got worse as Trafford guessed right on the reigning PFA Player of the Year’s kick, beating away the effort.

Substitutes and City slowing the pace meant the scoring didn’t hit the peak it looked like it might at one point but it remained an extremely comfortable afternoon for the Blues – and will likely go down as one of the performances of the season for Guardiola’s Wembley-bound men.

Here’s how we rated the players in Manchester City’s third win of the season over Liverpool in all competitions!

Starting XI

James Trafford – 8

Had to keep his concentration through long spells of inactivity, but did his job to perfection, denying Salah both from open play and from a penalty to keep a highly impressive clean sheet.

Matheus Nunes – 7

His first blemish in a while to give away the penalty. That aside though, it was the energetic, composed and decisive display we’ve come to expect from the Portuguese.

Abdukodir Khusanov – 7.5

Wasn’t required to use his considerable recovery skills too often beyond the half-hour mark, but remained sharp to defend and play out comfortably enough.

Marc Guehi – 8

Led the defence with real authority, stepping out with the ball at will and moving around the backline to double up with teammates wherever he was needed.

Nico O’Reilly – 8.5

Keeps going from strength to strength. Comprehensively won his individual battle with Salah, and added to his defensive mastery by getting forward whenever he could, winning a penalty and setting up a goal too.

Rodri – 7

Not at his press-resistant best in the first-half, but still managed to spray the ball around and later be afforded a break after receiving a booking.

Bernardo Silva – 8

He loves playing against Liverpool. Moved all over the pitch to facilitate the play, particularly causing problems on the right wing. Picked up his customary yellow card against the Reds too.

Rayan Cherki – 8.5

Is there a more confident player in world football right now? Cherki took his Wembley swagger and brought it to the Etihad this afternoon, combining with his fellow forwards gorgeously and having a big hand in two goals.

Antoine Semenyo – 9

Decisiveness personified. Had been functional in his role holding the width on the right but exploded into life as City took control, setting up Haaland then scoring in style himself.

Erling Haaland – 10 (POTM)

Rumours of his downfall were greatly exaggerated. Involved himself throughout the game and had his usual impact in the penalty box to get back on the club hat-trick trail.

Jeremy Doku – 8

Struggled a little with the close attention afforded him by Joe Gomez but escaped enough times to cause problems. Superbly involved in the build-up to the fourth.

Substitutes

Nico Gonzalez – 6

Lost a few balls in the middle but kept fighting.

Savinho – 6.5

Some good bright moments of carrying.

Tijjani Reijnders – 6

Couldn’t quite be found with his movements in behind.

Phil Foden – 6

Couldn’t quite trap passes into him.

Omar Marmoush – N/A