Haaland Hat-Trick Sends Liverpool Crashing Out of FA Cup as Salah’s Return Goes Badly Wrong

This was not the comeback Mohamed Salah deserved.

After missing several weeks through injury, Salah returned to action at the Etihad Stadium on April 4 in Liverpool’s FA Cup quarter-final against Manchester City. He had barely been back on the pitch before he was handed a penalty, a chance to mark his return with a goal and to give Liverpool a foothold in a game they desperately needed.

James Trafford saved it. City went on to win 4-0.

Erling Haaland scored a hat-trick. Antoine Semenyo added a fourth. Liverpool were beaten so comprehensively that the scoreline flattered nobody. It was, as ESPN put it, another dismal afternoon in an underwhelming season for a club that started it as title challengers.

How It Fell Apart

City were sharper, faster and more clinical from the first whistle. Haaland opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 39th minute, then added a second in first-half stoppage time to give City a commanding lead at the break that Liverpool never looked like overturning.

Semenyo made it three early in the second half and Haaland completed his hat-trick on 57 minutes. Liverpool had no answer at any point.

The penalty miss by Salah summed up the afternoon. On his first appearance since announcing he would leave the club at the end of the season, he had the chance to matter immediately. Trafford guessed right, dived the right way and kept it out. It was a moment that encapsulated where Liverpool are right now. A big player back from injury, a big moment in front of him, and nothing came of it.

The Bigger Picture for Liverpool

This result hurt beyond just the FA Cup exit. Liverpool’s frustration was compounded by the defeat, which increased pressure on Arne Slot ahead of a daunting Champions League trip to Paris Saint-Germain. The season that started with genuine title ambitions had narrowed to one real objective, the Champions League, and the Anfield form and confidence that could fuel a European run was being tested severely.

Salah’s return had been the talking point all week. Slot had spoken warmly about him in the days before the match, saying he had always given everything for the club. That affection was genuine and still is. But affection does not stop Haaland penalties or produce goals from nothing, and Liverpool’s squad, even with Salah back, looked a level below City on the day.

What This Means for Salah Personally

There is a strange and sad dimension to all of this. Salah announced before this match that he would be leaving Liverpool at the end of the season, ending one of the greatest individual careers any player has had at a single club. His final weeks in a red shirt were always going to carry emotion.

A penalty miss in a 4-0 defeat is not the material anyone wanted for those final weeks. He will have more chances. He will almost certainly score again before his last game at Anfield. But this was not the way he wanted to begin his goodbye.

For City, it was another statement from a squad that continues to show what they are capable of on their best days. Haaland’s hat-trick took his season tally higher still. The FA Cup semi-final awaits.

For Liverpool, the exit means the Champions League is now everything. They fly to Paris knowing that a defeat at PSG would mean a season that promised so much delivering very little. Slot will need a response, and he will need it quickly.