Manchester City player ratings from the Manchester Evening News after a 4-0 thumping of Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-final

Manchester City romped into the FA Cup semi-finals with a 4-0 demolition of Liverpool at the Etihad. Picking up where they left off at Wembley, Pep Guardiola’s side kept their own goal protected and then picked apart the opposition ruthlessly.

It was Pep Lijnders in the dugout for this game with Guardiola serving a touchline ban, yet the football was the same as Nico O’Reilly won a penalty that Erling Haaland converted to put City into the lead. Rayan Cherki and Antoine Semenyo then combined brilliantly to set up Haaland for a second on the stroke of half-time, and Semenyo then killed the game early in the second half.

Haaland completed his hat-trick before an hour was on the clock and then James Trafford saved a penalty from Mo Salah to complete Liverpool’s humiliation. Here are the player ratings from the Manchester Evening News for the game.

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Trafford: A penalty save to deny Mo Salah a farewell goal at the Etihad, keeping up his brilliant form. 8

Nunes: Excellent play to win the penalty for the first goal, although he then gave away a spot kick in the second half with the game won. 7

Khusanov: Some outstanding work with his speed and power to keep Liverpool out and make sure that City kept control. 8

Guehi: Not involved in as much as his partner but kept Salah quiet and ensured everything was cool at the back. 8

O’Reilly: The boy does not stop. More excellent work, especially in combination with Doku, that made the difference for City. 9

Rodri: Sloppy in the first half as City struggled but then found his feet and began to dominate before being taken off. 7

Silva: As busy and tidy as ever, protecting the City defence and turning defence into attack whenever he could. 7

Cherki: The best player on the pitch by some distance. Everything he touched turned to gold and he won the team the game. 9

Doku: A quiet start by his standards against Liverpool but he grew into it and quickly became effective on the left. 7

Semenyo: A lovely assist and a lovely goal to mark another effective performance. Liverpool couldn’t handle his running. 8

Haaland: What a return to form, showing calmness for the penalty and then springing into life with another two goals. 9

Substitutes

Savinho (for Doku, 62) Made some promising runs but couldn’t find an opening. 6

Gonzalez (for Rodri, 62) Tidy enough in a game that was already won. 6

Foden (for Cherki, 71) Struggled to make inroads. 6

Reijnders (for Semenyo, 71) Looked busy with his runs forward. 6

Marmoush (for Haaland, 77) Unable to get on the end of anything. 6

Not used: Donnarumma, Ake, Ait-Nouri, Kovacic