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Liverpool beat Manchester City 3-2 at the Wembley Stadium to advance to the finals of the FA Cup.
Ibrahima Konate opened the scoring for Liverpool as he headed one in from an Andrew Robertson corner. Sadio Mane soon doubled his side's advantage as he slid in to capitalize on an error from Zack Steffen. The Senegalese scored another on the brink of half-time. Mane volleyed one in after receiving the ball from Thiago Alcantara to make it 3-0.
Manchester City came out roaring following the restart. The Cityzens pulled one back immediately as Jack Grealish beat Alisson Becker after some brilliant work by Gabriel Jesus in the box to set him up. Manchester City kept the pressure on but Alisson stood tall and defied everything that came his way.
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At the end phase of the game, Manchester City scored once again, this time through Bernardo Silva. The Portuguese tapped one in following some splendid work down the line by Riyad Mahrez to skip past Robertson.
Manchester City tried to find an equalizer but it was just not meant to be. Liverpool held onto their lead and advanced to the FA Cup final for the first time since 2012.
On that note, here's a look at five talking points from the game:
#5 Manchester City missed Kevin de Bruyne
Kevin de Bruyne was dearly missed by the Cityzens in the center of the park. The Belgian was sidelined with an injury he picked up against Atletico Madrid in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.
Liverpool were rampant in the center as Manchester City lacked the stabilizing influence of De Bruyne in the center. Thiago and Fabinho tore apart Manchester City in the midfield battle. City have thrived under the Belgian's influence and were exposed against Liverpool without him on the pitch.
#4 Pep Guardiola's selection
Pep Guardiola made some surprising inclusions in the starting eleven. It's fair to say that it backfired big time. Fernandinho, Nathan Ake, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Zack Steffen all struggled against Liverpool.
Steffen even made a huge error which led to Liverpool's second of the game. He could have also done better to deny the opening goal as well.
Meanwhile, Fernandinho was a massive let-down in the center. The Liverpool midfielders ran all over him. It was a given that Guardiola had to make certain adjustments, keeping in mind the fatigue and injuries. However, this was a gamble that certainly cost them the game. To top it all off, Jurgen Klopp got it bang on with his lineup.
#3 Liverpool aim for the quadruple
Liverpool kept their chances of winning the quadruple alive as they beat Manchester City to advance to the FA Cup final. In the process, they also killed Manchester City's chances of winning the treble this season.
The Reds, who have already won the Carabao Cup, are still very much alive in the Premier League. They trail Manchester City by just one point in the league. Meanwhile, Klopp's men have a good chance of advancing to the finals of the UEFA Champions League when they face Unai Emery's Villarreal in the semi-finals.
#2 Thiago Alcantara masterclass
Thiago Alcantara put in a massive performance for Liverpool in the center of the park. The Spanish international orchestrated play for the Reds from midfield and gave Fernandinho a hard time. He assisted Mane for Liverpool's third goal of the game.
Thiago won 11 duels, made four recoveries, won three tackles, completed two dribbles and created one chance throughout his stay on the pitch. He was absolutely magical against Manchester City. The trio of Fabinho, Naby Keita and Thiago completely neutralized Manchester City in the middle of the park.
#1 Sadio Mane shines for Liverpool
Sadio Mane was Liverpool's hero against Manchester City. The Senegalese international scored a brace to seal the tie in favor of his team. Mane slid in to capitalize on an error from Zack Steffen for his first goal. For his second, he smashed in a beautiful volley.
Mane won six duels, made five recoveries and completed one dribble throughout the game. He was also the most-fouled player as he was fouled five times on the evening. Mane stepped up beautifully given that Mohamed Salah is struggling to find some goalscoring form.
