Manchester City to Face Southampton in FA Cup Semi-Finals After Liverpool Rout

Manchester City F.C. will face Southampton F.C. in the semi-finals of the FA Cup later this month.

The tie is scheduled to take place at Wembley Stadium over the weekend of 25–26 April, with the exact date yet to be confirmed.

Southampton secured their place in the last four with a dramatic 2-1 victory over Premier League leaders Arsenal F.C. on Saturday evening, in one of the competition’s most notable upsets this season.

Ross Stewart gave the Saints the lead 10 minutes before half-time, before Viktor Gyökeres restored parity for Arsenal with just over 20 minutes remaining. However, former City academy player Shea Charles struck a late winner five minutes from time to seal a memorable triumph.

The defeat compounded Arsenal’s recent disappointment, following their loss to Manchester City in the EFL Cup final prior to the international break.

City, meanwhile, progressed in emphatic fashion with a commanding victory over Liverpool F.C. on Saturday.

Erling Haaland opened the scoring from the penalty spot after Nico O'Reilly was fouled by Virgil van Dijk.

The advantage was doubled on the stroke of half-time when Antoine Semenyo delivered a cross that was headed home by Haaland. Semenyo then added a third shortly after the restart to further underline City’s dominance.

Haaland completed his hat-trick late on, converting a low cross from O’Reilly to seal a comprehensive 4-0 victory.

Following Arsenal’s elimination, Manchester City have emerged as favourites to lift the FA Cup and remain firmly in contention for a domestic treble.

Having already secured the EFL Cup, Pep Guardiola’s side are also chasing down Arsenal in the Premier League title race. City currently trail the Gunners by nine points but have a game in hand, with a potentially decisive meeting between the two sides scheduled in the coming weeks.

The full semi-final line-up was confirmed after Leeds United F.C. edged past West Ham United F.C. in a penalty shootout on Sunday. Alongside City and Southampton, Chelsea F.C. also booked their place in the semi-finals following victory over Port Vale F.C..

With a place in the final at stake, the semi-finals promise to deliver high-quality and fiercely contested encounters at Wembley.