Welcome to Sportstar's highlights of the FA Cup 2021-22 semifinal clash between Manchester City and Liverpool being played at the Wembley Stadium in London, England.
This was Neeladri Bhattacharjee bringing you the pre-match buildup minute-by-minute updates of a fixture that continues to be entertaining and tense at the same time. That was all for the night. Thanks for tuning in and take very good care of yourselves,
Match report:
Full Time
Manchester City 2-3 Liverpool
90+3' Chance! Salah carries the ball to the City goal on the otehr end and shoots, but it is just wide
90+1' GOOOOOOAAAALLLLLLLLL!!!!!!! Beranardo Silva scores with Mahrez crossing in from the right.
MCI 2-3 LIV
90' Liverpool fans and jumping up and down at Wembley. They can sense the victory, the joy and the jubilation. Klopp will be playing his first FA Cup final as it stands
88' Alisson passes the ball for Curtis Jones who has just come on and Reds have possession back. The long ball that follows is finally controlled by Steffens
85' Shot! Salah makes a run along the ritght wing and waits and then shoots. But Steffen makes a regulation save
85' Double change for Liverpool! In: Diogo Jota, Roberto Firmino, Out: Sadio Mane, Luis Diaz
84' Sterling takes the free kick and the ball flies miles over the goal
83' Foul! Jesus is tripped by Thiago as Man City gets a free kick from a scoring position. That was the last action for Jesus as Mahrez replaces him
80' Diaz gets the ball from the right flank by Alexander-Arnold and goes for goal this time. Steffen saves it easily, with the shot without any real force
78' Fernandinho's pass for Sterling is intercepted by Robertson and the ball goes out of play for a throw in. Ederson and De Bruyne, watching from the sidelines must be kicking themselves. Injury problems have stifled their team's FA Cup ambition this time
76' Liverpool keeps the City midfield occupied with small passes as the Men in Blue look for chances to buonce back from a first half that looked embarrassing for Pep's side
72' Miss! Diaz gets the ball in the box, passes to Salah and Zinchenko's erroe gives the Egyptian the perfect chance to score and he misses
70' Save! Jesus gets the ball close to the box and shoots, but a brilliant block by Alisson denies City a second goal
69' Shot! Luis Diaz passes to Robertson in the box and the cross finally lands to Keita, who tries a shot from distance, only to see it fly off target
67' Salah hares into the opposition box as Ake tracks back, and just before Salah's shot, Ake does enough to concede a corner, which is eventually headed away by the City defence
65' Grealish passes it into the midfield, as Sterling gets the ball eventually and makes a run along the right wing, cuts to his left, but his cross is blocked by Konate
64' Manchester City enjoying possession in its own half as Zinchenko passes the ball along the left wing for Grealish.
61' Yellow Card! Fernandinho tries to carry the ball deep from defence into the midfield, but Mane pulls him down and the Senegal international gets a booking this time
58' Luis Diaz gets the ball in the final third, but City just doesn;t look to be in a mood to concede any more as he is surrounded by blue shirts
56' Yellow Card! Fernandinho fould Mane with a the challenge and Keita pushes the Brazillian away as Bernardo keeps peace between the two players.
55' Sterling makes a run past Van Dijk, and then his shot is saved by Alisson for a corner kick. This one is headed away by Ake for a goal kick to Liverpool
53' The free kick is almost received by Van Dijk, but Ake makes sure the ball goes out for a corner kick. The corner kick, taken by Robertson is missed by Fabinho as the ball eventually goes out of danger
52' City begins to build from the back, with Stones and Ake trying to keep the back solid, but a foul on Mane by Ake stops the play for a Liverpool free kick
47' GOOOOOOAAAAALLLLLL!!!!!!! Jesus carries the ball into the Liverpool box and doesn't shoot, passes to Grealish, who scores tp pull one back to City
MCI 1-3 LIV
Second Half begins!
Half-Time
Manchester City 0-3 Liverpool
45' GOOOAAAAALLLLLLL!!!!!! Thiago passes the ball to Mane at the edge of the box and Mane scores with his first touch.
MCI 0-3 LIV
42' Free Kick! Luis Diaz tries to cut in right from the left wing and gets fould by Cancelo. The Free Kick taken by Alexander-Arnold is headed away by Stones.
42' Liverpool marches forward with Thiago passing the ball for Salah, who delivers the ball to Keita with a backheel, but Ake is there to City's rescue, clearing the ball away
39' Jesus carries the ball in the final third, and tries to go past the Liverpool defnec, but Alexander-Arnold is there to kick the ball away -- out of danger
37' Foul! Jesus tries to make a run along the right wing, but Fabinho downs him with force as he gets the second booking of the match. Yellow card to Fabinho!
35' Liverpool gets the ball along the back to Salah in the front, but Ake takes possession back, passes to Steffen and Jesus meets it for a throw-in to Liverpool
32' Foul! Konate gets fouled close to his box as Foden pulls his shirt in order to go ahead along the left wing as Liverpool gets a free kick.
30' Zinchenko gets the ball from Stones as City tries to switch the play, but Liverpool has iyts back four in place as it looks to defend a healthy early lead it has earned so far
27' Yellow Card! Luis Diaz tries to make a run along the wings, but Jesus stops him in his tracks and gets booked for the rash challenge
26' Steffens gets the ball off a back pass, and Mane follows his again. But this time he clears the ball
25' City tries to go on the attack, with Cancelo trying to pass along the wings. Liverpool steals the ball and marches forward. Salah gets the ball, but his cross is cleared awat by the City defence
23' Kevin De Bruyne and Ederson sit and watch from the sidelines as Klopp's Liverpool looks on its way to its first ever FA Cup Final. Klopp has never won this title with the Reds so far.
21' Man City has been caught completely off-guard. Two shots and two goals and the Wembley Stadium has Ale Ale Ale singing all around the stadium.
17' GOOOOOOAAAALLLLLLLL!!!!!!! Sadio Mane steps up in the City box and an error by Steffen leads Liverpool to double its lead.
MCI 0-2 LIV
15' Manchester City tries to go on attack, with five City players in the finall third. Cancelo crosses for City, but Sterling's header is caught by Alisson.
9' GOOOOOOOOOOAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!! Konate jumps and scores as Konate puts the Reds in front
Man City 0-1 Liverpool
6' Liverpool tries to press City high, but Cancelo kicks the ball clear of danger
4' Block! Man City marches forward with Grealish getting the ball and shoots, but Van Dijk blocks the shot as Liverpool try an atack on the counter. But City tracks back on time
3' Liverpool calms the senses after Salah tries to build an attack along the wings and then Fabinho fouls Bernardo Silva. Free Kick to City!
1' Liverpool gets the game started as Alisson gets the ball back and sets the match rolling with a long kick
8:00 pm: Kick Off!
7:30 pm: Head-to-Head
Liverpool vs Manchester City
Liverpool and Manchester City have met twice before at the Wembley Stadium, with both games ending in a 1-1 draw before going to penalties.
Interestingly, Man City won on both occasions. (League Cup Final – 2016, Community Shield – 2019)
This is the first FA Cup meeting between Manchester City and Liverpool since the Reds beat City in 2003, with Danny Murphy scoring the winner.
Liverpool’s only two defeats to Man City in the competition came in replays, winning three of the other five games (D2).
7:00 pm: Starting Lineups out!
Liverpool Starting XI: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson, Fabinho, Thiago, Keita, Diaz, Mane, Salah
Manchester City Starting XI: Steffen, Cancelo, Stones, Ake, Zinchenko, Fernandinho, Bernardo, Foden, Grealish, Jesus, Sterling
6:45 pm: Jurgen Klopp vs Pep Guardiola
The contest between the two sides is beyond just players as Klopp and Guardiola have a battle of their own as well.
Throughout their careers, neither Man City under Pep nor Liverpool under Klopp has lost more often against any other manager than they have against one another.
In domestic cup competitions, they have a win apiece against each other and those happened in Germany. Bayern Munich beat Klopp’s Borussia Dortmund 2-0 in the 2014 DFB-Pokal final, while Klopp returned the favour in the 2014-15 semi-final.
6:30 pm: Team Form
Form Guide: Liverpool and Manchester City
Manchester City is on a 10-match unbeaten run, with the last loss coming against Tottenham Hotspur in February.
City comes into the match after sealing a semifinal spot in the UEFA Champions League with a win against Atletico Madrid (1-0 on aggregate).
Last five matches (MCI) - Manchester City has won three and drawn two matches in all competitions.
- Drew 0-0 vs Atletico Madrid
- Drew 2-2 vs Liverpool
- Won 1-0 vs Atletico Madrid
- Won 0-2 vs Burnley
- Won 1-4 vs Southampton
Liverpool, on the other hand, is unbeaten in seven matches and has failed to secure a win in its previous two fixtures ( a 2-2 draw against Man City and a 3-3 draw against Benfica).
Klopp’s side has also booked a place in the UCL semifinals with a win against Benfica on aggregate (6-4).
Last five matches (LIV) - Liverpool has and identiacl record with three wins and two draws in all competitions as well.
- Drew 3-3 vs Benfica
- Drew 2-2 vs Manchester City
- Won 1-3 vs Benfica
- Won 2-0 vs Watford
- Won 0-1 vs Nottingham Forest
MATCH PREVIEW
Manchester City and Liverpool will meet again six days after their enthralling Premier League clash, this time at Wembley Stadium in the FA Cup semi-finals on Saturday.
Title holder City leads Liverpool by a point after the 2-2 draw at the Etihad on Sunday and as well as a final to play for neither will want to hand a psychological edge to the other.
READ |
Both teams came through their Champions League quarter-final tests on Wednesday but Liverpool, who rested seven first-choice starters at home to Benfica, should be fresher than City which came through a fierce battle with Atletico Madrid in Spain.
Liverpool, which has already won the League Cup this season, is still in with a chance of an unprecedented quadruple of trophies this season while City have hopes of a treble.
The FA Cup may no longer have the status it once enjoyed but the fact that Saturday's game pits two of the strongest sides in the world together has added extra spice to the occasion.
( viaReuters )
Where to watch UEFA Champions League?
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