Erling Haaland quashes Man City goal troubles with hat-trick in Liverpool FA Cup rout

Erling Haaland has suffered dips in form before at Manchester City, but not as prolonged as this. Prior to Saturday's showdown at the Etihad Stadium, the Norwegian frontman had found the net just five times in 19 appearances across all competitions in 2026. From the start of the season in August to December 31, 2025, he had bagged 25 goals in 24 games. It wasn't the ideal way to prepare for his maiden World Cup appearance with Norway in June, but the FA Cup quarter-final against Liverpool proved to be the perfect stage to make amends as he bagged a marvellous hat-trick - his 12th in City colours.

Defenders take pride in stopping Haaland from scoring, and that's the challenge for him. As well as making the same runs and following the same patterns that make him the most lethal striker in the world, the 25-year-old needs to find new ways to make himself a threat in and around the penalty area. Unfortunately for the Reds, their four-man backline felt the full force of Haaland's frustration after a difficult start to the year.

Having dominated much of the first half, City were gifted the chance to open the scoring through a rare Virgil van Dijk error. The Dutchman clipped Nico O'Reilly inside the penalty area and referee Michael Oliver had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. Haaland carried on that theme with a nonchalant stroke of the ball into the bottom-right corner, sending Giorgi Mamardashvili the wrong way. Then, in first-half stoppage time, the Norwegian brilliantly glanced his header into the corner from an Antoine Semenyo cross to make it 2-0.

But he wasn't done there. More lax defending from Liverpool allowed Semenyo to break in down the left and his cutback found Haaland waiting, before he lashed one in off the upright to seal his hat-trick. Remarkably, it was actually his first treble of the season and his 12th hat-trick since joining City in July 2022. Semenyo then grabbed a goal for himself to cap another impressive performance from the €72 million January signing.

Liverpool had put out arguably their strongest side available with Dominik Szoboszlai and Hugo Ekitike both featuring from the start. But from a tactical and aesthetic standpoint, they were nowhere close to matching City. Mohamed Salah's miss from the penalty spot on 64 minutes summed up a miserable day for the Merseyside outfit as they were outfought, outclassed and soundly beaten 4-0 on the day.

It will be a huge concern for Arne Slot that his side - after a period of gradual improvement - have taken a significant knock to their confidence at a crucial stage in the season. The Champions League is now their only hope of winning silverware this year and that looks a long shot, with PSG up next. Even a top-four spot is far from guaranteed, and you would have to imagine that Slot fails to secure qualification for next season's competition, neither will his future.

As for City, their title hopes may well be dead in the water but at least their place at Wembley is secure. On this performance, they look well-equipped to collect the trophy at the end of May for the first time since 2022/23. If this is to be Pep Guardiola's final season in England, this victory will go down as one of the most dominant he's enjoyed against his familiar foe Liverpool. And with Haaland back on song, it's fair to say that City are feared once again.