Updated 6 hours ago
The Liverpool team managed to qualify for the FA Cup final, following its victory over Manchester City on Saturday followingnoon with a hat-trick at Wembley Stadium.
The three goals of Liverpool were scored by Frenchman Ibrahim Konate in the ninth minute and Senegalese Sadio Mane in the seventeenth minute and moments before the end of the first half, while Manchester City’s Jack Grealish scored twice in the forty-seventh minute and Portuguese Bernardo Silva in stoppage time.
Thus, Liverpool won its bet to continue seeking to achieve a historic quartet, following starting the journey last February by winning the League Cup and crossing to the semi-finals of the European Champions League on Wednesday, following an exciting confrontation with Benfica of Portugal, where it is possible to find a confrontation with City in the event Qualified for the League Final.
picture released, Getty Images
As for Manchester City, who are at the top of the league by a point from Liverpool, they lost the first test in their quest to become the second English team to win the treble of the English Premier League (Premier League), the Champions League and the FA Cup.
The first attempt in the match came in favor of “Citizens” following Joao Cancelo passed to Grealish in the right corridor of the penalty area, but the latter hesitated to shoot, giving the Liverpool defense room to cut the ball.
The red team took advantage of that hesitation and opened the scoring early, specifically in the ninth minute, following Konate ascended to a corner by Scottish Andrew Robertson, turning it with a powerful header into the net.
German coach Jurgen Klopp’s men returned to add the second goal in the seventeenth minute, this time following a mistake committed by the American goalkeeper, Zack Stephen, by delaying the removal of the ball, Mane pressed him and succeeded in putting the ball into the net.
And Liverpool’s Brazilian goalkeeper, Alisson, almost made a similar mistake in the twenty-ninth minute following pressure from Grealish, but the Liverpool defense was on the lookout for him.
Liverpool increased the suffering of Spaniard Pep Guardiola and his players, when he added the third goal in the forty-fifth minute, when Mane received an elaborate fallen pass from Spaniard Thiago Alcantara to the right of the penalty area, to hit the Senegalese with his right hand on the bird, and Stephen netted.
City started the second half strongly, scoring the first goal in the forty-seventh minute following Brazilian Gabriel Jesus manipulated his compatriot Fabinho inside the penalty area, before paving the ball for Grealish, who shot directly into the net.
City managed to add the second goal in the 90th minute, following a distinguished start from Algerian substitute Riyad Mahrez on the right side, before passing the ball to Silva, who turned it into the net.
“Kill the match”
After the match, Mane said of the quest for a quartet, “We will see. We will try to do our best. It is definitely a dream and we will fight for it.”
The Senegalese admitted that the victory was “special. It is a great victory to win the semi-finals and we are very happy to qualify for the final”.
“We started very well and pressed them high and the goalkeeper made a mistake. I was very happy to score two goals, but the team’s performance was great. Every Liverpool player enjoyed the game because we did the right thing at the right time.”
Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk admitted: “We made it very difficult in the end. We created chances to kill the game. When they scored their first goal at the beginning of the second half it put them back in the game, but overall we are happy to have reached the final.”
Klopp is pleased with his team’s performance and is close to achieving the second local championship
“We should have killed the match. Now we are going to the final, we haven’t won anything yet, but it’s an important step for us as a group. It’s the only cup we haven’t won (in recent years), so we’ll try.”
Chelsea will play in the second semi-final on Sunday, seeking to erase the disappointment of losing the Champions League title once morest Real Madrid, when they face Crystal Palace.
Liverpool and making history
Liverpool’s victory keeps them in contention to make history, as no team in English football has won the League title as well as the two major championships in the Cup, in addition to winning the European Champions title in one season, which the Reds can achieve.Liverpool appeared determined to win since the beginning The match and showed his intensity and cruelty a lot for City, who seemed unable to keep pace with the Reds and unable to deal with the strength of the German team Jurgen Klopp. There were opportunities for others, including Jesus, but the referee ended the situation with the final whistle following adding four minutes of added time.
However, in the final reckoning, Liverpool deserved to reach the final and would constitute a formidable obstacle once morest Chelsea or Crystal Palace once the winner of the second semi-final match is decided.
It was a bad day for City
It was clear from the start of the match that it was a bad day for City, with the pressure attacking the Reds, Guardiola felt that he had made a mistake in the squad due to injuries.
Guardiola’s squad failed once morest Liverpool and conceded three goals in the first 45 minutes
It seemed clear that the team was suffering from problems and that the squad was not successful, and the net conceded three goals in 45 minutes.
The team was affected by the absence of De Bruyne, who was not fit to take to the field following suffering an injury in the Champions League quarter-final once morest Atletico Madrid, and the experience of defender Walker, who was completely ruled out. Guardiola suffered a new disappointment following losing another local championship and will focus on winning the English Premier League and the struggle in the Champions League, and he will play the semi-final match once morest Real Madrid. City hopes that De Bruyne and Walker regain their full fitness soon because Despite this loss, there is still a lot at stake for Guardiola and Manchester City as they are still in a position to achieve great things this season.
