Arsenal shocked, City thrash Liverpool, Chelsea comfortable

AP:

Second-tier Southampton caused a huge shock by beating Premier League leaders Arsenal in the FA Cup quarter-finals yesterday after Manchester City dispatched Liverpool 4-0, thanks to a hat trick by Erling Haaland.

Fresh off losing the English League Cup final to City before the international break, Arsenal saw another potential trophy slip from their grasp when conceding in the 85th minute to lose 2-1 at Southampton – a team in seventh place in the Championship.

It left City as the big favourites to clinch a cup double this season, with the thrashing of Liverpool securing a place in the FA Cup semi-finals for a record eighth straight season.

City’s win was powered by Erling Haaland’s 18-minute hat-trick, while Mohamed Salah’s failure from the penalty spot added to the woes of Liverpool, whose meltdown at Etihad Stadium will put more heat on under-pressure manager Arne Slot.

Haaland converted a penalty in the 39th minute, headed home a cross from Antoine Semenyo in first-half stoppage time, and swept in a finish off the crossbar in the 57th to score his first hat-trick of the season for City and 12th since he joined the club in 2022.

Semenyo scored the other goal in the 50th for City, who were playing their first match since winning the English League Cup two weeks ago by beating Arsenal in the final at Wembley Stadium. City will be heading back there later this month for the FA Cup semis.

“This club has to win trophies,” said Haaland, who was described after the game as a “machine” by City assistant coach Pep Lijnders – deputising in the dugout while Pep Guardiola served a touchline suspension.

Salah, who announced during the international break he’s leaving Liverpool after nine trophy-filled seasons, was beginning his long goodbye to the Reds but couldn’t mark it with a goal. The best of the many chances he spurned came from a penalty, which City goalkeeper James Trafford palmed away in the 64th.

It was a record 18th straight home win for City in the FA Cup, dating to 2017. Guardiola’s team shared a record with Clapham Rovers for reaching seven consecutive FA Cup finals but now holds it outright.

Many Liverpool fans were seen leaving the stadium after the fourth City goal.

“The fighting spirit wasn’t there enough, the mentality wasn’t there enough,” Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai said. “None of us were there, to be honest, as much as we could.

“It’s a hard time but we have to stick together.”

Like City, Chelsea romped to a big win in the quarter-finals – though this one was expected.

Playing without Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez for disciplinary reasons, Chelsea still had more than enough to dispatch third-tier Port Vale 7-0 at Stamford Bridge.

Jorrel Hato, Joao Pedro, Tosin Adarabioyo, Andrey Santos, Estevao and Alejandro Garnacho scored for Chelsea, along with an own-goal.

Chelsea have won the FA Cup eight times, most recently in 2018.