EDITOR’S PICK
EKO HOT BLOG reports that Jamie Carragher has expressed his ‘love’ for Sadio Mane after Liverpool beat title rivals Manchester City to reach the FA Cup final.
Liverpool’s hopes of winning four major trophies this season are still alive after Jurgen Klopp’s side defeated Man City 3-2 at Wembley.
The Reds, who beat Chelsea on penalties in the EFL Cup final in February, took the lead after nine minutes as Ibrahima Konate rose well from a corner and headed past Zack Steffen.
Manchester City’s No. 2 goalkeeper Steffen then made a terrible error to gift Liverpool a second, dithering over the ball following a backpass and allowing Mane to nick the ball into the net.
Mane made it 3-0 before half-time with a sweet strike following a superb move from Liverpool, who are just one point behind Manchester City in the Premier League with seven games to play.
Jack Grealish got a goal back for City just after the restart and Bernardo Silva netted a consolation goal in injury-time but Liverpool kept Pep Guardiola’s side at arm’s length as they progressed to yet another final under Klopp.
During Liverpool’s win, Carragher tweeted: ‘I love Sadio Mane. What a player you’ve been and still are for Liverpool,’ with a heart emoji.
Following Liverpool’s hard-fought win, Mane told BBC One: ‘Today is special – we were playing one of the best teams in the world.
“To win this kind of game, especially in a semi-final, is a big, big, big win. We were very pleased to win and qualify for the final.
‘We started very well, everybody started on the front foot – for my first goal the goalkeeper made a mistake but I think we pushed him to make that mistake. That is our style and I think that made the difference.’
Former Arsenal and England defender Martin Keown, meanwhile, said: ‘It’s always a treat when these two sides play.
“City just left themselves too much to do – credit them for the second half, much better – but Liverpool were in a world of their own in their first half. Their performance in that first half was just too good for City.”
“Liverpool had the game won in the first half down to their brilliance but also City were not alive, which I’ve not said for a while.
FURTHER READING
“In the second half they upped the tempo. It looked more like the City we recognise. It wasn’t enough today but in the end Liverpool were the better team.
Click to watch our video of the week:
The Port Harcourt Refinery in Rivers State has commenced crude oil processing. According to the…
English Premier League club Nottingham Forest are in advanced talks with defender Ola Aina over…
The Bauchi State Police Command has arrested a suspected thief linked to a syndicate involved…