Haaland elated after 'special' FA Cup hat-trick

Erling Haaland hailed a “special” afternoon at the Etihad after his hat-trick fired Manchester City to a 4-0 FA Cup quarter-final win over Liverpool and booked the holders an eighth consecutive semi-final berth.

The Norwegian opened the scoring from the spot on 39 minutes when Virgil van Dijk felled Nico O’Reilly, then thundered in a header deep into first-half stoppage time from Antoine Semenyo’s inviting cross. Semenyo added a deft third shortly after the restart, before Haaland completed his treble on 58 minutes, sweeping in O’Reilly’s unselfish cut-back for his 12th City hat-trick.

James Trafford preserved the clean sheet with a sharp penalty save from Mohamed Salah, ensuring City became the first side in FA Cup history to win 18 home ties in a row.

“Amazing,” Haaland told reporters. “First half we struggled a bit, but after around 30 minutes we kept going. Another Wembley trip is amazing and important.”

The striker praised Semenyo’s instant impact and O’Reilly’s creativity, urging the pair to maintain their standards as the club targets more silverware. “Since I came here I won it and now we’re back at Wembley,” he added. “This club has to win trophies.”

Attention now turns to a pivotal league meeting with Chelsea before the Wembley return, as City look to keep their domestic double hopes alive.