A shock. A miracle. A stepping stone.Call it as you wish, but Liverpool’s dismantling of Manchester City (3-2) in the FA Cup semifinal played at Wembley on Saturday afternoon can not be considered a regular outcome. Or just another match.No manager has beaten Pep Guardiola more times than Jurgen Klopp.No manager has beaten Jurgen Klopp more times than Pep Guardiola.Rent free 🧠 pic.twitter.com/7iyQcQ6BYN— GOAL (@goal) April 9, 2022 EPL title-contenders who split points just a few days ago in their league clash were separated this time by much more than a single goal, as a scoreboard shows. Pep Guardiola’s until-today dominant side succumbed to an unrecognizable weakness, faced with much-better Reds. Klopp’s boys seemed sharper, fresh and eager to continue their quadruple-quest ever since the kick-off.It paid off for them soon after, as Konate’s header following a corner-kick from the left ended in the back of the net.At that moment, we thought it would be a replica of the mentioned high-fly EPL draw (2-2), but with more goals didn’t come equality. On the contrary, there was the only team on the Wembley’s turf in that first half. The Scousers doubled their lead thanks to the woeful goalkeeping of the City’s reserve custodian Stephen, whose attempt of recreating Ederson’s nonchalance ended in shambles. Instead of clearing the ball, he gambled against Mane in his own six-yard-box and – lost! That was 2-0 for the Reds, and we got ourselves a one-sided match. A moment to forget for Zack Steffen as Sadio Mane makes it 2-0 to Liverpool at Wembley #EmiratesFACup @ShowmaxPro pic.twitter.com/v3R8nAq2Kj— Eric Njiru (@EricNjiiru) April 16, 2022 Without De Bruyne – who was given a chance to rest on the bench – the Citizens simply couldn’t impose their tactics. The ball was moving fast and with a lot of fluidity, but on the other part of the pitch.Thiago and TAA played a one-two before the Brazilian found Mane on the right wing. The Senegalese star fired a sensational shot into the near bottom corner, and it was 3-0 before the half-time.Albeit in despair, Guardiola somehow managed to awake his players in the locker room, which resulted in a quick goal shortly after the break. It was Grealish who scored from close range, but that goal aside, this guy’s presence was anything but fruitful for the vast part of the fixture.Grealish goal Manchester city Vs Liverpool 3-1 FA cup Semi final 2022 new pic.twitter.com/Zuq9T8z6PM— Fightgame (@futurefightsnew) April 16, 2022 Gabriel Jesus was close to scoring halfway through the second half, just like Salah on the other side, but the result stayed the same. At least until the stoppage time, when Mahrez – Pep’s second-half joker – dashed onto the ball on the left wing and crossed it to the far post for Bernardo Silva who reduced the gap even more.After a bit of drama, however, Liverpool celebrated a much-deserved victory and their first FA Cup finals after ten-year-long hiatus.
