The red and blue battle between Manchester City and Liverpool is seen as the new "national derby", after the FA Cup semi-final victory over Manchester City, Liverpool continues to move towards the goal of four champions, while Blue Moon's triple crown dream is shattered ahead of schedule.
In February, Liverpool had already won the League Cup, reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League and FA Cup, the first time in Liverpool's history that they had reached the semi-finals of these three competitions in a single season. It was also the first time in Klopp's coaching career that he had reached the SEMI-finals of the FA Cup.
Klopp, however, remained cautious, "Three semi-finals, but in the end nothing, the world is not ready for this success." I don't know if this will be considered a success in the future. "Indeed, if you want to be truly successful, there is only one way to win the championship.
Multi-front combat, so that Liverpool, Manchester City in April schedule is quite dense. However, the champions league against Benfica and the first away win allowed Liverpool to take a break in the second leg of the week. On the contrary, Manchester City has experienced a vicious battle with Atletico, which has allowed Guardiola to make a decision to retire Ederson, Laporte, De Bruyne and other main players.
It was precisely this decision that ultimately determined the course of the FA Cup semi-finals. Acker and Steffen, who started the campaign, made a series of mistakes, the former was grabbed by Konat in the fight for a header, the latter was hesitant to handle the ball, was shoveled by Mane, and then failed to block Mane's strafing.
After the end of the first half, Liverpool had already led by three goals. Sky Sports reporter Nico Wright commented, "Manchester City have experienced a nightmare, Guardiola's choice of starting line-up will definitely be questioned, they have been torn to pieces. ”
"Liverpool's performance in the first half was one of the most damaging performances the stadium has ever seen, while Manchester City was one of the worst. Tickets to the FA Cup final are now just a formality. ”
Legendary striker Shearer commented, "Liverpool are more physically energetic, and that's the way it is. From the moment the opening whistle sounded, Liverpool took the initiative, blocking their opponents' passes and winning every pass. Yes, they got Steffen's help, but other than that, they took the initiative from start to finish. ”
Although Glaliche and Bernardo Silva pulled back two goals for City in the second half, Liverpool had the last laugh and reached the FA Cup final after defeating Manchester City, which was Klopp's first time in the FA Cup final.
Liverpool have also broken the spell of never beating Manchester City at Wembley before, with Liverpool losing to Manchester City twice in the 2016 League Cup final and Community Shield in 2019. At the same time, Liverpool also broke the spell of the previous five winless games against Liverpool.
At the same time, Liverpool also set two major records. First, Liverpool continued their record of never losing to Manchester City in the FA Cup since 1973, with Liverpool qualifying four times in 1988, 20011, 2003 and 2022.
After winning the match, Liverpool won five consecutive FA Cups for the first time since 2012. Nine years ago, Liverpool lost to Chelsea in the FA Cup final, ending their five-game winning streak. This time, their goal is to lift the FA Cup with six straight wins.
Of course, Liverpool's real goal is to win four titles and create real miracles.