Credit: Imago

Jack Dawson

Sat 4 April 2026 14:56, UK

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Liverpool crashed out of the FA Cup on Saturday as they lost 4-0 to Manchester City in the quarter-finals.

Despite a positive start from Arne Slot’s side, Erling Haaland managed to hit a brace in the first half to put the visitors 2-0 down.

Antoine Semenyo then piled on the misery to make it 3-0 before Haaland netted his hat-trick just before the hour mark.

As a result, Man City have cruised in the semi-finals of the FA Cup after a complete dismantling of the Reds.

Now, the pressure is once again increasing on Slot after another terrible Liverpool defeat.

Virgil van Dijk exposed vs Man City

Once easily the best centre-back in the Premier League, this season, it has become clear that he has lost his touch.

Throughout, the captain struggled to deal with Man City’s attack, especially Haaland, who was a nuisance consistently.

Van Dijk’s defending for the penalty conceded was awful, and this helped cause the visitors’ collapse, despite holding up well in the opening 35 minutes.

While the Netherlands international wasn’t the only player at fault for the defeat, fans rightly expect more from their captain.

However, it is becoming increasingly clear that the centre-back is proving to be a liability for the Reds when he plays.

Hugo Ekitike was solid for Liverpool

Ex-Everton, Aston Villa, and Aberdeen chief executive Keith Wyness told Football Insider that Slot would need a remarkable run of results to keep his Liverpool job. However, his players may have now put the final nail in the coffin after that display.

Given the performance and the heavy defeat, it was almost impossible to find a standout player for Liverpool.

However, Hugo Ekitike was perhaps the best out of a bad bunch as the striker attempted to make things happen up top.

We exit the #EmiratesFACup. pic.twitter.com/Zcn4ChwxFz

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) April 4, 2026

The France international was still firing shots on goal and did not misplace a pass throughout.

He also won the penalty for Liverpool, with Mohamed Salah’s spot-kick then being saved by James Trafford.

While the performance from Ekitike still wasn’t great, it was certainly better than a lot of his teammates in an awful day for the Reds.

Liverpool player ratings vs Man City

• Giorgi Mamardashvili – 3
• Milos Kerkez – 3
• Virgil van Dijk – 2
• Ibrahima Konate – 3
• Joe Gomez – 5
• Curtis Jones – 5
• Ryan Gravenberch – 5
• Dominik Szoboszlai – 5
• Florian Wirtz – 6
• Mohamed Salah – 2
• Hugo Ekitike – 6

Substitutes

• Jeremie Frimpong (on for Gomes, 62’) – 6
• Alexis Mac Allister (on for Gravenberch, 67’) – n/a
• Rio Ngumoha (on for Wirtz, 67’) – n/a
• Cody Gakpo (on for Ekitike, 68’) – n/a
• Federico Chiesa (on for Salah, 77′) – n/a