April 16, (THEWILL) – With a 3-2 victory over Pep Guardiola’s team at Wembley, Liverpool blitzed Man City in the first half to book their spot in the FA Cup final next month.
City should not have been surprised by Liverpool’s path to goal, which saw them score in the ninth minute. Ibrahima Konate met Andy Robertson’s outswinging corner flat on the head and smashed his header beyond Zack Steffen.
Wembley Stadium was rocking, and they were sent into delirium once more just seven minutes later. Steffen, who had been given the starting role in lieu of Ederson, dallied in possession just yards from his goalline before Sadio Mane slipped in to redirect the ball into the net.
City were failing to put any pressure on Liverpool’s defence, and Pep Guardiola could have been forgiven for resorting to his bench with Kevin De Bruyne, Rodri, and Ilkay Gundogan on the sidelines.
However, there was no activity from the bench, and the game was eventually put out of City’s reach two minutes before the break. Liverpool manoeuvred the ball around the perimeter of the penalty area before passing it to Mane, who cut a stunning volley past the diving Steffen.
City, on the other hand, promptly halved the gap after the restart. A superb Fernandinho pass unleashed Gabriel Jesus in behind before the Brazilian cut across goal and handed the ball off to Jack Grealish, who sidefooted a left-footed attempt past Alisson.
Jesus’ movement was causing Liverpool problems, as it had been in the league match previous weekend, and he came close to scoring a second for Guardiola’s side minutes later. This time, Sterling provided the assist, but the Brazilian was steered wide by the backtracking Virgil van Dijk after springing in-behind the Liverpool backline, before Alisson smothered the danger.
The third time is typically the charm, but after being slipped in behind by Grealish on 69 minutes, Jesus was denied once more. As he attempted to curl his finish around his countryman, Alisson was quick off his line to thwart the Brazilian.
Minutes later, Oleksandr Zinchenko fumbled a cushioned header back to his goalie, giving Liverpool the chance to extend their lead. Mohamed Salah made a darting run into the box, but his finish ended up in the side netting.
In stoppage time, City got a lifeline when Bernardo Silva stroked the ball into the net following superb work on the right by replacement Riyad Mahrez. Despite Fernandinho and Sterling’s best efforts, it was too little, too late for City.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
