Nightmare before Easter and total destruction! Monsters under Liverpool's bed - Man City & Erling Haaland!

Nightmare before Easter!

Something is seriously wrong with Liverpool, and Manchester City had no mercy on the struggling rival today. On the contrary, the Cityzens exploited the Reds' troubles to the fullest, absolutely destroying them!

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They beat them twice in the Premier League this season - last November 3-0 and two months ago 2-1. And today, the third luck was not the charm for Liverpool, as they were crushed once again by Manchester City in the current season, this time in the FA Cup quarter-finals, 4-0!

In the span of 10 minutes - between the 39th and 49th - the Cityzens scored three goals and handed a lethal blow to the rivals. Erling Haaland made the Reds' defenders look like a bunch of amateurs, bagging a hat-trick, while Mohamed Salah started his farewell tour with a missed penalty, wasting a chance to score at least a consolation goal for the Reds.

The rivals set a high pace from the start, but despite their efforts to threaten the opposing goal, they created few chances in the opening 45 minutes.

Liverpool did it first, 14 minutes into the game, when their custodian Giorgi Mamardashvili sent a perfect long ball for Mohamed Salah, the Egyptian won a duel with the Cityzens' defender Abdukodir Khusanov, but was too slow, allowing the Uzbek to block his strike in the decisive moment.

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Two minutes later, Rayan Cherki responded on the other side following Bernardo Silva's fantastic defense-splitting pass, but his close-range strike was also blocked.

In the 27th minute, Hugo Ekitike had a decent chance to open the scoring, picking up a rebound in the rivals' box, but his powerful effort went wide of James Trafford's goal.

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As the break approached, the Reds' level of play began to drop, and the Cityzens knew how to exploit it. Erling Haaland "smelled blood", and once that happens, the Norwegian cannot be stopped.

Six minutes before the break, Nico O'Reilly went down in Liverpool's box after Virgil van Dijk's tackle, and Michael Oliver had no dilemma, pointing to the spot.

Haaland sent the spot kick home, but it wasn't the end of his scoring spree, as he made it 2-0 in the nick of time before halftime, finding the top right corner of Mamardashvili's goal with a terrific header.

The demolition of the Reds continued just four minutes into the second half! City won the ball deep in the visitors box, Cherki sent a perfect pass for Antoine Semenyo, who easily chipped it over the rivals' keeper, making it 3-0 and hinting at Liverpool's catastrophe.

At that point, Arne Slot's men had already fallen into the abyss, from which they couldn't be saved. But the Cityzens' had no mercy. In the 57th minute, the Reds' defence once again collapsed, while Haaland completed his hat-trick, making this nightmarish duel even worse for the rivals.

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Given that the first FA Cup semi-finalist was already known, the rhythm naturally dropped, allowing Liverpool to try to save their honour. In the 64th minute, they were awarded a penalty kick, but Trafford stopped Salah's effort, ruining the beginning of the Egyptian's farewell tour.

In the final 20 minutes, no one really cared about football anymore, as everyone just wanted the game to end as soon as possible. One side was looking forward to the celebration, and the other to going home and waking up from a nightmare.

The Cityzens have undoubtedly set sights on another trophy and seem capable of winning it, while Liverpool and Slot are in for some tough and challenging days.

FA CUP - QUARTER-FINALS

Saturday

Manchester City - Liverpool 4-0 (2-0)

/Haaland 39 pen, 45+2, 57, Semenyo 49/

19.15: (1.05) Chelsea (12.5) Port Vale (33.0)

22.00: (9.50) Southampton (5.80) Arsenal (1.30)

Sunday

18.30: (2.45) West Ham (3.55) Leeds (2.80)

***odds are subject to change***