Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Sep 01, 2025

Liverpool beat Man City to reach FA Cup final

Liverpool beat Man City to reach FA Cup final

Liverpool survived a late scare to remain on course for an historic quadruple as they reached the FA Cup final with victory over Manchester City at Wembley.

If last Sunday's Premier League meeting between the clubs was a classic, this semi-final was effectively decided in a one-sided first 45 minutes, in which a mixture of ruthless finishing and Manchester City mistakes saw Liverpool take a 3-0 lead.

A reshuffled City side were unable to recover as Liverpool, having won the Carabao Cup, are now in the FA Cup final too - as well as the last four of the Champions League, while sitting second in the Premier League.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, who was unable to start Kevin de Bruyne and had Kyle Walker out injured, preferred Zack Steffen to Ederson in goal, a move that back-fired spectacularly.

Ibrahima Konate had already headed Liverpool in front after nine minutes when Steffen, trying to repeat the feats of Ederson in the league game between these two clubs, miscontrolled in his six-yard area, allowing Sadio Mane to pounce.

Mane beat Steffen with a crisp volley at the end of a superb Liverpool build-up to put Jurgen Klopp's side in complete command at the break but Jack Grealish pulled one back early in the second half and keeper Alisson twice saved crucially from Gabriel Jesus as this semi-final sprang to life.

Bernardo Silva pulled another back for City at the start of a tense period of stoppage time but Liverpool survived to face either Chelsea or Crystal Palace, who meet at Wembley on Sunday, in the final on 14 May.

Liverpool on course for history


Liverpool's win keeps them in contention to make history - as no team in English football has won the league title, the two main domestic cup competitions and become champions of Europe in the same season.

This was a win built on the foundation of a first half in which their intensity and ruthlessness proved too much for City, whose revamped side looked off the pace and unable to cope with the power of Klopp's side.

Konate's power in the air saw him score his third header in his past three starts and Mane's alertness was never going to allow Steffen to get away with his hesitation as he attempted to keep possession in the six-yard area.

Ederson had the calmness and expertise to escape almost on his goal-line as Diogo Jota bore down on him during last Sunday's 2-2 draw at Etihad Stadium but Steffen showed no such expertise or composure, and paid a heavy price as he was caught.

Mane led the Liverpool charge while Thiago was imperious in midfield, his clever pass allowing Mane to volley past Steffen at his near post in the closing moments of the first half for what eventually proved to be the winner.

Klopp was elated with his team's performance at the conclusion, although he will have concerns about how they allowed City back into the game through Grealish's goal, conceded two clear chances to Jesus then had to survive the anxiety of four minutes of stoppage time after Silva struck.

In the final reckoning, however, Liverpool deserved to reach the final and will present a formidable barrier to either Chelsea or Crystal Palace once the winner of the second semi-final is decided.

Man City too late to the party


This was not a good day for Manchester City.

It started with a section of their support chanting through the minute's silence to commemorate the anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989, with City issuing a formal apology to Liverpool after the match had started.

In the football context, Guardiola and City were left to regret injuries, a team selection that did not work out and a horribly laboured first 45 minutes that left them with too much to do, despite the brief hope offered by Silva's second goal.

City missed the invention of De Bruyne, only fit enough for the bench after suffering an injury in the stormy Champions Leaque quarter-final against Atletico Madrid, and the experience of defender Walker, who was ruled out completely.

And Guardiola's loyalty to Steffen as his FA Cup keeper was not rewarded as the American made that crucial error that allowed Liverpool to build on their fast start.

Guardiola will be disappointed but this is a quality side who will now refocus and set sights on the Premier League, where they lead Liverpool by one point, and the Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid.

He will hope to have De Bruyne and Walker back fully fit soon because, despite this loss, there is still so much at stake for Guardiola and Manchester City as they remain in a position to achieve stellar things this season.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
Ukrainian Nationalist Politician Andriy Parubiy Assassinated in Lviv
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
Federal Reserve Independence Questioned Amid Trump’s Push to Reshape Central Bank
British Politics Faces Tumultuous Autumn After Summer of Rebellions and Rising Farage Momentum
US Appeals Court Rules Against Most Trump-Era Tariffs
UK Sought Broad Access to Apple Users’ Data, Court Filing Reveals
UK Bank Shares Dive Over Potential Tax on Sector
Germany’s Auto Industry Sheds 51,500 Jobs in First Half of 2025 Amid Deepening Crisis
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
French and Korean Nuclear Majors Clash As EU Launches Foreign Subsidy Probe
EU Stands Firm on Digital Rules as Trump Warns of Retaliation
Getting Ready for the 3rd Time in Its History, Germany Approves Voluntary Military Service for Teenagers
Argentine President Javier Milei Evacuated After Stones Thrown During Campaign Event
Denmark Confronts U.S. Diplomat Over Covert Trump-Linked Influence in Greenland
Starmer Should Back Away from ECHR, Says Jack Straw
Trump Demands RICO Charges Against George Soros and Son for Funding Violent Protests
Taylor Swift Announces Engagement to NFL Star Travis Kelce
France May Need IMF Bailout, Warns Finance Minister
Chinese AI Chipmaker Cambricon Posts Record Profit as Beijing Pushes Pivot from Nvidia
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
Ukraine Finally Allows Young Men Aged Eighteen to Twenty-Two to Leave the Country
The Porn Remains, Privacy Disappears: How Britain Broke the Internet in Ten Days
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Welcome to The Definition of Insanity: Germany Edition
Just a reminder, this is Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris.
Spotify’s Strange Move: The Feature Nobody Asked For – Returns
Manhunt in Australia: Armed Anti-Government Suspect Kills Police Officers Sent to Arrest Him
China Launches World’s Most Powerful Neutrino Detector
How Beijing-Linked Networks Shape Elections in New York City
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
2 Australian Police Shot Dead In Encounter In Rural Victoria State
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
×