Four days before the first leg quarter-final of the Champions League against PSG at the Parc des Princes, Liverpool took a beating on Manchester City’s pitch on Saturday in the FA Cup quarter-final (4-0). Nothing is going well for Liverpool. Four days before heading to the Parc des Princes for the first leg quarter-final of the Champions League against PSG (Wednesday at 9 p.m.), the Reds experienced a real nightmare this Saturday against Manchester City. While Pep Guardiola’s men had not been successful against the Skyblues this year with two defeats in two matches (3-0 and 2-1), they were humiliated this time in the FA Cup quarter-finals (4-0). The 5th place Premier League side’s collapse began in the 37th minute when Virgil van Dijk, caught off guard by Nico O’Reilly a few meters from the goal, conceded a penalty after destabilizing his opponent. Erling Haaland didn’t hesitate to open the scoring and score his 31st goal of the season (39th). He went on to score again just before half-time by outdoing Ibrahima Konate to redirect an Antoine Semenyo perfect cross with his head (45th+2) to complete a superb team effort. A first blow to the Reds. They continued to struggle after the restart. Perfectly launched at the edge of offside by Rayan Cherki behind Virgil van Dijk once again overtaken, Antoine Semenyo increased the tally by beating Giorgi Mamardashvili with a nice left-footed chip shot (50th). Overwhelmed and without a solution, Liverpool’s defense was once again pierced by a collective effort by the Citizens, culminating in a pass back to Erling Haaland who didn’t miss the opportunity to score a hat trick (57th). “The only positive point is that we didn’t concede more goals” “It’s another big disappointment for us. The only positive point is that we didn’t concede more goals,” said Arne Slot after the match, in remarks reported by the BBC. “What we’ve been missing for a large part of the season is converting our chances into goals. I think the match was balanced until they scored the penalty.” Demonstrating their helplessness, the Reds couldn’t even save face, missing a penalty obtained after a foul by Matheus Nunes on Hugo Ekitike. As a sign, Mohamed Salah, exceptional last season but seeing his playing time reduced this season, missed the shot and saw his strike pushed away by James Trafford (65th). “I’m not going to focus on one player, but on the team. This sums up our performance today, and maybe also a large part of the season,” admitted Arne Slot bluntly. “We weren’t competitive enough, we didn’t have a good enough mindset. Honestly, none of us were at our best,” added Dominik Szoboszlai to TNT Sports. “We need to fight, work hard, support each other, and sometimes we lack that.” “A major setback for the Reds against PSG” Therefore, it will be a Liverpool team in a major crisis of confidence that will face PSG on Wednesday at the Parc des Princes for the rematch of last year’s C1. After a flawless performance in the group stage, the Reds were overturned at Anfield in the return leg of their round of 16 against Paris Saint-Germain (1-1 aggregate, 4-1 on penalties). And the English club, which has not won in the league since February 28, will also have to deal with a major setback as number 1 goalkeeper Alisson Becker is still recovering from a muscle injury. In contrast, Luis Enrique’s players will arrive in good form after their victory against Toulouse (3-1) on Friday.
