Imperial in the first period, Liverpool resisted Manchester City’s attempt to return to the semi-finals of the FA Cup on Saturday.
The Reds qualified for the final, where they will face either Chelsea or Crystal Palace, beating the Citizens 3-2.
The two confrontations between the two teams in the league had ended in draws 2-2, where the visiting teams had twice managed to come back to the score and a tense duel was once more expected. If the last minutes raised the pulse of Wembley, most of the match was to the advantage of the Reds, both on the lawn and in the stands.
City’s first 45 minutes were even quite incomprehensible, as the Sky Blues stammered their football and at times seemed almost lost on the pitch. Liverpool, on the other hand, had taken the match by the right end, pressing their opponent very high and being incredibly realistic.
Steffen offers the second goal
From the 9th minute, Ibrahima Konaté – who had already opened the scoring with a header and from a corner in the first leg and return once morest Benfica in the quarter-finals of the Champions League – did it once more to put the Reds in control of the match ( 1-0). Certain choices of Pep Guardiola, even if they did not depart from his general philosophy, have also had serious consequences.
Fernandinho, established in the middle of the field when he plays very rarely this season, was completely out of the game in the middle of the game. And Zack Steffen, preferred to Ederson by virtue of an immutable rotation in the cages, has a big responsibility on the second goal.
On a back pass, with the sun in his eyes, he seemed not to see how fast Sadio Mané was coming at him. The Senegalese tackled perfectly to counter his pass attempt and push the ball deep (2-0, 17th). Mané even offered himself a double at the conclusion of a magnificent collective action (3-0, 45th).
Alisson does the job
Despite this calamitous performance, Guardiola did not change anything at the break and his players seemed to prove him right, Jack Grealish reducing the score from the 47th (3-1). The second act was also much more balanced, but we cannot say that Liverpool were often in danger in this match.
The entry of Riyad Mahrez seven minutes from the end of regulation time seemed to restore tone to the attack of the Citizens, but it was very late. On one of his infiltrations, his strike was deflected by Alisson but returned to the feet of Bernardo Silva, who reduced the scoring for a final three minutes suddenly more exciting than the previous 91.
Alisson did the job once more with a 93rd-minute strike from Raheem Sterling, but it was ultimately with fine control that the Reds will return to Wembley on May 14 to try to win a second trophy this season following the League Cup .
/ATS
