Man City Player Ratings vs. Liverpool: History Made in Dominant Win

Manchester City reached a record-setting eighth consecutive FA Cup semifinal with a dominant 4–0 victory over Liverpool on Saturday.

After a slow start to the game, City burst into life late in the first half. Erling Haaland slotted home a penalty to give his side the lead, before steering home an excellent header seven minutes later in stoppage time.

Antoine Semenyo added a third almost immediately after the restart and Haaland completed his hat-trick before 60 minutes to book their place at Wembley and keep hopes of a late-season surge alive.

Winners and Losers

Winners

Erling Haaland’s hat-trick was ruthless. It was the 28th of his career and the first netted against Liverpool since 1937. What more could you want from your striker?

A special shout-out must go to goalkeeper James Trafford. A bystander in the first half, the backup stopper was needed after the break to spoil Mohamed Salah’s farewell tour with a handful of excellent saves, including from the penalty spot.

Losers

Ryan Gravenberch, Matheus Nunes — Matheus Nunes (right) was not at his best. | Liverpool FC/Getty Images

Nobody will care at the end of the day, but this was not a great performance from Matheus Nunes. All of Liverpool’s early threat came down his side and the right back showed just how overwhelmed he was when he sent Hugo Ekitiké tumbling to the ground for a penalty.

Man City Player Ratings vs. Liverpool (4-2-3-1)

Antoine Semenyo netted City’s third. | Darren Staples/AFP/Getty Images

*Ratings provided by FotMob*

GK: James Trafford—9.2: A quiet first half and a really impressive second half. Some excellent stops to deny Salah, including from the penalty spot.

RB: Matheus Nunes—7.3: Most of Liverpool’s danger came down his side as Nunes struggled to match the pairing of Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitiké. Conceded a sloppy penalty against the Frenchman.

CB: Abdukodir Khusanov—7.2: Given an early scare by Mohamed Salah but recovered well and soon began to dominate.

CB: Marc Guéhi—7.3: Some excellent forward passes to try and get City moving. Has now beaten Liverpool, the team he nearly joined last summer, five times this season.

LB: Nico O’Reilly—8.8: Set the tone early on with some delightfully tricky feet. Too fast for Liverpool, particularly Virgil van Dijk, who was chasing shadows as he conceded a penalty.

DM: Rodri—7.5: Kept everything ticking perfectly. Has rediscovered his form at the ideal time for City.

DM: Bernardo Silva—7.3: Grew in influence as things progressed and, unsurprisingly, City looked far better when he got on the ball more.

RM: Antoine Semenyo—8.3: Didn’t have the busiest game but his constant willingness to run at his defender caused all sorts of concerns in Liverpool’s back line. A nice cross for Haaland’s header before taking his own goal well.

AM: Rayan Cherki—8.1: Left fuming after seeing an early penalty shout rejected, but did not let that knock him as he continued pulling the strings for his side. Some glorious passes which cut Liverpool apart.

LM: Jérémy Doku—6.5: City made it clear early on that their plan was to isolate Doku against Joe Gomez. Constantly involved and usually beat his man, although it did not always lead to much.

ST: Erling Haaland—9.6: Occasionally dropped deeper and sparked nightmares in Liverpool’s defense with his powerful runs. A composed penalty, an excellent header and a smart finish to wrap up a hat-trick.

SUB: Savinho (62’ for Doku)—6.8

SUB: Nico González (62’ for Rodri)—6.3

SUB: Tijjani Reijnders (70’ for Cherki)—6.2

SUB: Phil Foden (71’ for Semenyo)—6.0

SUB: Omar Marmoush (77’ for Haaland)—6.1

Subs not used: Gianluigi Donnarumma (GK), Nathan Aké, Rayan Aït-Nouri, Mateo Kovačić.

What the Ratings Tell Us

Erling Haaland, Rayan Cherki — Rayan Cherki was shining. | Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Getty Images

There have been plenty of doubts about Erling Haaland’s recent form, but he put those to bed here with a devastating hat-trick. This is what City need from their superstar if they are to end this season with success.
Rodri has picked the ideal time to rediscover himself. City look so much better when their metronome is ticking, which is why Pep Guardiola has publicly admitted he wants him to snub interest from Real Madrid.
Rayan Cherki is increasingly popular at the Etihad. His on-the-ball class and trickery are hard to replicate and easy to love, and he was given a rapturous applause as he left the field.

The Numbers That Explain City’s Dominant Victory

Four big chances, four goals. Ruthlessly perfect in front of goal.
Ties in both possession and shots show things were actually even during the first half, but City completely ran away with things after the opening goal.
City actually managed two fewer passes than their visitors, who they allowed to pass the ball around without offering any real threat.

Statistic	Man City	Liverpool
Possession	50%	50%
Total Shots	11	11
Shots on Target	7	5
Big Chances	4	2
Pass Accuracy	89%	89%
Fouls	15	10
Corners	4	2