Liverpool and Manchester City’s bid for historic trophy-winning hauls will clash in an FA Cup semi-final at Wembley next month after coming through their quarter-final ties in differing fashion.
City on Sunday finally got the better of Southampton at the third attempt this season with a 4-1 win, while Liverpool needed a late Diogo Jota strike to see off Championship side Nottingham Forest 1-0.
Forest had dumped out holders Leicester City and Arsenal on their run to the last eight, and could easily have caused another shock had the fine margins gone their way at the City Ground.
Photo: AP
Ninety-seven seats were left unoccupied in an act of remembrance for those who lost their lives at Hillsbrough when the two sides last met in the FA Cup in 1989.
Juergen Klopp made seven changes, with Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Andy Robertson among those rested, and it showed in a ragged Liverpool performance.
Roberto Firmino should have put the Reds in front before halftime when he tried to dink the ball over Ethan Horvath with just the goalkeeper to beat, but it was Forest who had the better chances after the break.
Philip Zinckernagel missed the best of them 14 minutes from time when he slotted wide after Brennan Johnson’s inviting cross.
Three minutes later, Jota showed the Forest forwards how it is done as he stretched to meet Kostak Tsimikas’ cross for his 19th goal of the season.
Still the hosts could have taken the game to extra-time when Ryan Yates headed straight into the arms of Alisson and had a penalty appeal turned down as he rounded the Brazilian goalkeeper, but Liverpool held on to book a meeting with City when one side’s quest for history will come to an end.
City are aiming to match Manchester United’s historic feat in 1998-1999 of winning the treble of UEFA Champions League, English Premier League and FA Cup, while Liverpool, who trail Pep Guardiola’s men by one point at the top of the Premier League table, are aiming to go one better by adding those three trophies to the EFL Cup they won last month.
Despite a more resounding scoreline, City also struggled for the first hour at St Mary’s as a Southampton side that held the English champions twice in the league this season caused them problems once again.
“We started really well and then we forgot to play,” Guardiola said. “We know it’s so difficult because Southampton are one of the best organized teams.”
Adam Armstrong hit the post early on for the Saints, but just seconds later Raheem Sterling opened the scoring with a cool finish from Gabriel Jesus’ pass.
Ilkay Gundogan then hit the woodwork for City, but Southampton got the equalizer their performance deserved when Aymeric Laporte deflected Mohamed Elyounoussi’s cross into his own net.
With the tie delicately poised, Southampton’s good work was undone when Mohammed Salisu needlessly dived in on Jesus to concede a penalty.
Fraser Forster got a hand to Kevin de Bruyne’s spot-kick, but could not keep it out.
City’s strength in depth off the bench then took the game away from the hosts, as substitutes Phil Foden and Riyad Mahrez produced lethal finishes to round off the scoring.
Crystal Palace will face Chelsea in the other semi-final after thrashing struggling Everton 4-0 at Selhurst Park.
Marc Guehi, Jean-Philippe Mateta, Wilfried Zaha and Will Hughes got the goals as the Eagles continued their impressive first season under Patrick Vieira.
“Going to Wembley is fantastic,” Vieira said. “You can hear the atmosphere in the stadium, the fans — this is what they wanted and we wanted to give it to them.”
Everton’s focus now turns to just staying in the Premier League as they sit perilously just above the relegation zone.
“We allowed them a free pass into the semi-final without Palace even playing particularly well,” Everton manager Frank Lampard said.
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care
Caitlin Clark on Thursday walked into her new home arena with No. 22 shirts and jerseys peppered from floor to ceiling. She left as a first-time WNBA winner. A late-arriving, but louder-than-usual crowd roared during her official introduction to Fever fans and again when Clark made her first basket, a layup with 7 minutes left in the first quarter. The cheers grew when she completed a three-point play a few minutes later and hit a crescendo when she finally made a long three-pointer from the edge of the fieldhouse logo late in the third quarter. Clark successfully navigated the city’s most anticipated rookie
Novak Djokovic on Sunday described his shock third-round elimination from the Internazionali BNL d’Italia by Alejandro Tabilo as “concerning,” two days after he was hit on the head by a bottle, which he said has caused nausea and dizzy spells. Djokovic’s bid for a record-extending 41st Masters 1000 title was ended in just more than an hour by Chilean Tabilo, who is ranked 32nd in the world and claimed his first win over a top-10 opponent, 6-2, 6-3. The 24-time Grand Slam winner said that his subdued performance on a court where he has won six titles might have been due to
TO REAL MADRID? Kylian Mbappe informed PSG privately in February of his intention to depart when his contract expires, but this was the first time he acknowledged it publicly French soccer player Kylian Mbappe on Friday confirmed that he is to leave French champions Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the season, with Real Madrid widely expected to be his next destination. The announcement brings an end to a prolific association with his hometown team, which began when he signed from AS Monaco in 2017 in a deal worth 180 million euros (US$194 million). “I wanted to announce to you all that it’s my last year at Paris Saint-Germain. I will not extend and the adventure will come to an end in a few weeks,” Mbappe, 25, said in a video