Manchester City had a hat-trick hero, Arsenal had a humiliation, and English football had the kind of Saturday that reminds you why the FA Cup still matters.
City beat Liverpool 4-0 at the Etihad, with Erling Haaland completing his hat-trick in 18 minutes, a penalty, a header and a finish off the crossbar, his 12th for the club since arriving in 2022, and his first of this season. Pep Guardiola watched from the stands serving a touchline ban, with assistant Pep Lijnders taking the dugout, and it made no difference whatsoever. Mohamed Salah missed a penalty in what is becoming an extended and painful farewell tour, and Liverpool’s afternoon ended the way too many of their afternoons have ended this season, with more questions than answers and Arne Slot staring into the distance.
Then Southampton happened. A team sitting seventh in the Championship beat the Premier League leaders 2-1, conceding in the 85th minute to end another potential trophy run for Mikel Arteta’s side, their second major exit in a matter of weeks, following the League Cup final defeat to City before the international break. Arsenal are still nine points clear at the top of the league, which on paper looks comfortable, but the optics of being knocked out of two cup competitions by the same club and a second-tier side in the space of a month are not comfortable at all, and optics have a habit of becoming reality if you let them sit long enough.
The semi-finals are now set City face Southampton at Wembley in a League Cup final rematch, while Chelsea meet Leeds, and the prospect of a Championship club at Wembley in an FA Cup semi-final is precisely the kind of story that nobody would have written at the start of the season but everyone will watch.
