At Etihad Stadium, Manchester City stormed into the FA Cup semi-finals by defeating Championship leaders Burnley, thanks to Erling Haaland’s second hat-trick in just five days.
Haaland, who recently scored five goals against RB Leipzig in the Champions League, added another three to his tally, taking his season total to an impressive 42 goals.
He is now just two goals away from equalling the record jointly held by Ruud van Nistelrooy and Mohamed Salah for the most goals for an English top-flight club in all competitions in the Premier League era.
Julian Alvarez scored twice, and substitute Cole Palmer also contributed to the scoreline on a disappointing night for former City skipper Vincent Kompany and his Burnley side, who are 13 points clear at the top of the Championship.
Although Burnley put up a good fight in the first half, they couldn’t match Haaland’s remarkable proficiency in front of goal.
In the second half, Manchester City opened up and demonstrated the gap in quality between the top two divisions in English football.
Under Pep Guardiola, Manchester City has reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup for the sixth time in seven seasons and based on their performance in this match, it would be difficult to argue against them winning the trophy for the second time in that period as they continue their quest for a treble-winning campaign.
The draw for the FA Cup semi-finals is scheduled for Sunday after Brighton’s game against Grimsby Town
