MThanks to Erling Haaland, Manchester City became the first club to reach the semi-finals of the English FA Cup. The 22-year-old Norwegian scored his goals of the season 40, 41 and 42 with three goals (32nd/35th/59th) in the 6-0 (2-0) victory of the Citizens in the quarter-finals against the second division team FC Burnley. Julian Alvarez (62. /73.) and Cole Palmer (68.), who came on for Haaland in the 63rd minute, scored the other goals for the English champions.
Bayern’s next opponent in the Champions League only had problems with the second division club in their own stadium in the early stages on Saturday. The team of former HSV pro Vincent Kompany played carefree and could even have taken the lead.
Guardiola changes vigorously
Four days after the 7-0 win in the Champions League at RB Leipzig with Haaland’s five goals, coach Pep Guardiola had changed his team to seven positions – captain Ilkay Gündogan was also on the bench. Man City are the big favorites to win the FA Cup. The defending champions, Liverpool FC, and the record winners, Arsenal FC, have already been eliminated in this competition.
The FA Cup continues on Sunday with Sheffield United v Blackburn Rovers, Brighton & Hove Albion v Grimsby Town and Manchester United v Fulham FC. Grimsby Town, who defeated Southampton FC in the round of 16, are in the fourth division.
Meanwhile, Chelsea missed their third win in a row in the Premier League despite a goal from Kai Havertz. Against FC Everton, the team around the German national player did not go beyond a 2: 2 (0: 0). Havertz scored a penalty kick in the 76th minute to make it 2-1. The Portuguese Joao Felix (52nd) scored the opening goal, Abdoulaye Doucoure (69th) managed to equalize 1-1. Ellis Simms (90th) made the final score. With 38 points, the Blues are in tenth place in the table. Everton have 26 points under their belt.
Former European Cup finalists Leeds United came to an important 4-2 (1-0) win at Wolverhampton Wanderers in the fight against relegation. National player Robin Koch played 90 minutes at Leeds, who now also have 26 points.
Tottenham Hotspur lost a 3-1 lead in a 3-3 (1-0) win at Southampton. Attacker Kevin Schade from FC Brentford, called up by national coach Hansi Flick for the international matches against Peru and Belgium on Friday, came on as a substitute in the 1-1 (1-0) draw against Leicester City in the 61st minute.
