Liverpool booked their spot in the FA Cup final after defeating Manchester City 3-2, a score that is closer than the match actually was. Rest proved to help the Reds after Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah were able to sit out of their Wednesday Champions League tie against Benfica before playing key roles in the FA Cup semifinal. City, on the other hand, was without Kevin de Bruyne and Kyle Walker after both picked up injuries against Atletico Madrid. Those absences showed.
Liverpool went ahead nine minutes into the match as Ibrahima Kounate headed in a corner from Andrew Robertson. While the header was a good one, the way Liverpool seemed to easily slice through City’s defense in the buildup to that chance turned out to be a major warning sign.
It wouldn’t take long for Liverpool to get their second as Sadio Mane pounced on a mistake from Zack Steffen to kick the ball into the net. Steffen was caught flat footed looking to play the ball out of the back and Mane reacted more quickly to continue Steffen’s Wembley nightmares.
Liverpool got a third right before halftime via another Mane goal. Trent Alexander-Arnold started the attack before Thiago played a good flick to Mane who didn’t miss. It was one of a few times that Oleksandr Zinchenko got caught out of position as he wasn’t in a good place to protect Steffen and his defense.
City started the second half with a cracking goal from Jack Grealish that Gabriel Jesus assisted. It seemed like the goal would provide hope, but it wasn’t to be as that was the high point of the match for City.
Bernardo Silva would score another in the 90th minute as City’s attack did improve after the introduction of Riyad Mahrez late but their flurry of chances wasn’t enough to stop Liverpool from booking their spot in the FA Cup final as the Reds rode their early lead to victory.
After playing such a tight match only six days ago, this one was expected to be more competitive but the absences for City played quite a role in things. It’s fair to wonder why Pep Guardiola waited until the 83rd minute to make a change as fresh legs could’ve helped when City had a spell of space and possession after the 60th minute, but maybe he wanted to save the legs of his reserves with Premier League matches that are just as important as this one on the horizon. With only one point separating City and Liverpool in the league, every match is a final.
The match does show how hard it is to play your strongest team when competing in all competitions as one off night in quality is all that you need to come crashing out of a cup match. It’s something that Chelsea will also face playing Crystal Palace on Sunday after a grueling midweek extra-time loss against Real Madrid sent them crashing out of the Champions League, to see who the other participant in the FA Cup final will be.
