Erling Haaland brushed aside all talk of a goal-drought as he delivered a ruthless statement performance, scoring a hat-trick in Manchester City's 4-0 dismantling of Liverpool in their FA Cup quarter-final clash at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, April 4.
With manager Pep Guardiola watching from the stands, as he serves a two-match touchline ban for accumulating six yellow cards in domestic competitions, City dominated the game right from the start.
The blues shut down Liverpool's transitions and repeatedly exposed glaring defensive gaps, leaving Arne Slot's team chasing shadows. By the 57th minute, City were 4-0 up as Haaland completed his hat-trick, assisted by 21-year-old academy graduate Nico O'Reilly.
Haaland opened the scoring in the 39th minute, converting from the penalty spot after O'Reilly was brought down by Virgil van Dijk inside the box. The striker sent the goalkeeper the wrong way to score his first domestic goal since netting against Fulham on February 11.
The striker then carried that momentum into stoppage time of the first half, as he doubled the lead with a towering header from Antoine Semenyo's cross.
City's dominance continued after the break as Bernardo Silva's incisive through ball released Semenyo, who beat the offside trap and chipped the onrushing goalkeeper to make it 3-0 in the 50th minute.
Any lingering resistance from Liverpool was completely dissolved just seven minutes later when Haaland completed his hat-trick, his 12th for the club, slotting home a low cut-back from O'Reilly after a flowing move involving Jeremy Doku.
Liverpool's night worsened when Mohamed Salah, making his first appearance since announcing he will leave at the end of the season, saw his penalty saved by James Trafford in the 65th minute. It summed up a subdued outing for the visitors, who struggled to impose themselves at either end.
The result edges City closer to another Final at Wembley, just a few weeks after their 2-0 victory over Arsenal to lift the Carabao Cup.
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