Erling Haaland makes 'ridiculous' point after making Liverpool suffer in FA Cup

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Liverpool fell to a heavy defeat against Manchester City in the FA Cup, with Arne Slot's defense struggling and simply unable to compete with a rampant Erling Haaland

Erling Haaland celebrates scoring for Manchester City(Image: Shaun Brooks - CameraSport via Getty Images)

Manchester City forward Erling Haaland was delighted to score a hat-trick against Liverpool, compounding a miserable season for the Reds under Arne Slot by helping inflict the biggest defeat of the lot.

Haaland netted from the penalty spot in the first half, beating Giorgi Mamardashvili after Virgil van Dijk had committed a foul on Nico O'Reilly. Before half-time, he powered home a header from relatively close range and then completed the trio of goals in the second 45 minutes, crashing an effort in off the bar.

Booking its place in the semifinals by eliminating Liverpool, Manchester City looks to be on course to have another good campaign, regardless of whether or not it overhauls Arsenal in the Premier League title race.

"Super happy," Haaland told BBC Sport. "It's been a while now (since he scored three in one game). It was about time, and it's nice doing it against Liverpool.

"To go to Wembley yet again and for so many times Pep [Guardiola] has done it in the last 10 years has been incredible.

"It's actually ridiculous when you look at the stats, how many times we have been at Wembley. So consistent and this is crazy, 23 times in 10 years is ridiculous.

"Amazing game, and from the final, we showed a great level today as well. We need to keep building on this and keep going.

Erling Haaland scored a hat-trick on Saturday(Image: Getty Images)

"It's ideal to score right before half-time. The way we played from 25 minutes was amazing. We need to be more consistent and do this even more."

Arne Slot was already under pressure heading into a big week, but the games with PSG and Fulham to come are even more important in the context of such a heavy beating.

"Disappointment about the result, disappointment about going out and very disappointed about the 20 minutes where we conceded four goals," Slot said in his post-match press conference.

"The way we defended in that period, you will never be able to win a game of football.

"I liked a lot [of what] I saw today. We did a lot very well on and off the ball; generated some good chances. We kept them away from any danger. Until that penalty moment, there was a lot to like.

"The 20 minutes after, for what you can expect of a Liverpool team, were far from good enough defensively.

"There are many recurring themes. One is we miss our chances, one is in general we don't concede much, but the few chances we concede go in. That is maybe due to how much we put in. We have to improve the box defending and that was also shown today."