Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai has issued a warning over the UEFA Champions League to his teammates after their 4-0 drubbing at Manchester City. The Reds were dumped out of the FA Cup by their rivals, leaving them on the brink of a trophyless season.

Szoboszlai spoke to reporters after the game in Manchester, throwing down the gauntlet to his teammates to finish the season strongly. The Hungary international reminded the rest of the Reds stars that they should consider themselves eliminated from this and next season’s Champions League if they don’t turn things around.

“We have to pull ourselves together, because if we play like this, we can very quickly forget about the Champions League participation, and next year’s Champions League participation as well. So we have to look into ourselves and start thinking about how we can turn this catastrophic season into a season we can remember”, he said (via GOAL).

Dominik Szoboszlai has been one of Liverpool’s better performers this season but had nowhere to hide as his side were trounced at the Etihad Stadium. The defeat to Manchester City meant that they officially missed out on a final chance to claim domestic silverware this season.

Former RB Leipzig man Szoboszlai has previously issued a similar warning to his teammates this season. Following their home draw against Tottenham Hotspur last month, he said that even a place in the UEFA Conference League may be beyond them unless they improve drastically. Since then, Arne Slot’s side have won one and lost two games as they prepare to face Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in the Champions League quarterfinals.

Liverpool humbled as Haaland nets hat-trick in FA Cup win

Liverpool were at the receiving end of a chastening defeat at Manchester City in their FA Cup quarterfinal on Saturday, losing 4-0 at the Etihad Stadium. Erling Haaland scored a hat-trick for the Cityzens, who made it back-to-back cup wins against Arsenal and Liverpool.

A closely-contested opening period saw Haaland open the scoring from the penalty spot six minutes before half-time. Buoyed by his opener, the Norwegian striker added a second in first half stoppage time with a fine header, giving his side a 2-0 advantage ahead of the break.

Manchester City firmly put the game to bed in the 50th minute as Rayan Cherki and Antoine Semenyo combined, with the latter dinking a finish over Giorgi Mamardashvili. Haaland completed his hat-trick just seven minutes later as he finished off a square ball from Nico O’Reilly.

Liverpool were awarded a penalty in the 63rd minute after Matheus Nunes fouled Hugo Ekitike in the penalty area. Mohamed Salah saw his effort saved by James Trafford as the Reds failed to register a goal in their quarterfinal defeat.