The first match of the 2021/22 FA Cup semi-final, Manchester City and Liverpool, may be the highest level semi-final in the history of the FA Cup, the oldest event in football.
This is a direct contest between the Champions League title contenders this season, the pinnacle of dialogue at the level of the Champions League final, the teams of the two teams monopolizing the Premier League titles of the past 4 seasons, and 3 Champions League final experiences... This should have been the pinnacle and glory of the FA Cup's 160-year glorious history.
However, with the continuous development of football, the influence of the FA Cup, an ancient tournament, has long gone, and when there is a conflict with the Premier League and the Champions League, the FA Cup often becomes the abandoned party.
Manchester City and Liverpool met in the FA Cup semi-final after the battle of King Hill at the top of the Premier League, Liverpool is scrappy and full of morale, but for Manchester City, who just fought with Atletico Madrid for 90 minutes in the Champions League quarter-final, with losses and huge consumption, it is a huge test.
Manchester City's Champions League semi-final opponent is the Champions League king Real Madrid, and Liverpool's Champions League semi-final opponent is Villarreal, although they are all from La Liga, but the difficulty is completely different from one dimension, taking La Liga this season as an example, Real Madrid has always been in the first place, Villarreal is only seventh.
So, although only one step away from the final, Manchester City must make a rotation, there is no doubt about it. But when City and Liverpool set up at Wembley Stadium, Guardiola's choice was a surprise.
Compared to the top battle last weekend, Guardiola rotated 7 people, in addition to De Bruyne and Walker, who could not play due to injury, also rotated 5 people, such a choice is beyond reproach, successive vicious battles made blue moons physically and mentally exhausted, but Guardiola also rotated the goalkeeper! American goalkeeper Steffen made his debut, while Manchester City had the largest disparity in strength in the configuration of the replacement goalkeeper.
Is Ederson more tired than Bernardo Silva? In terms of surprising victory, Guardiola has never disappointed.
Klopp lined up the strongest line-up, with both the central axis and the wingers coming on, and given that Ruben Diaz was injured and unable to play, Klopp made the tall Konat start with Van Dijk.
Liverpool's strongest squad, which also rested for more than half of the champions league quarter-finals in midweek, can be said to be physically energetic and scrappy. After the opening, Liverpool's high pressing firmly suppressed Manchester City, and the game only went in for nine minutes, when Cornat pressed Acker in a corner kick and scored with a header.
If Cornett's goal was Klopp's tactical brilliance, then the trend that followed the game was Guardiola's defeat. As City tried to counterattack, goalkeeper Steffen replicated Ederson's horrific scene at the goal line last weekend, but he was not as lucky as Edson when Mane rushed to shovel the ball into the empty goal before he could get out.
Guardiola on the sidelines, with a face full of love. But just before half-time, Steffen put another piece of salt on the wounds of The Manchester City fans – he was clearly ill-prepared for Mane's shot inside the box, and the ball went into the net from his near corner. Liverpool scored three goals with four shots on goal in the first half, and Steffen was definitely to blame.
Half-time 0-3, just one foot on goal, the whole team is exhausted, which is a situation that Guardiola has never had since he took charge of Manchester City. If it ends in a fiasco, it will be a huge blow to the morale of the team. Fortunately, Guardiola's adjustment in midfield was effective, and at the beginning of the second half, Gralis blitzed the goal to make the score 1-3.
Since then, Manchester City's attack has played well, but unfortunately, the "happy double" Sterling and Jesus have missed the opportunity to narrow the score gap one after another. It wasn't until injury time that substitute Mahrez broke through the baseline and shot, bernardo Silva scored, 2-3.
Although City's last-minute whistled Liverpool's defence, it was too late, and City eventually lost 2-3, missing the FA Cup final and shattering the treble dream.
Despite City's subjective willingness to give up the FA Cup, fans still have to ask: Is Ederson tired? If he started, would it still be the result?
City's triple crown dream is shattered, and Liverpool continues to move towards the supremacy of the quadruple, but it is not yet possible to determine success or failure, and everything can only be known until the end of the season.