Friday, April 19

Man City vs. Liverpool live score, updates, highlights & lineups from the FA Cup semi-final


WEMBLEY STADIUM, LONDON — Manchester City and Liverpool reconvene at Wembley, this time with a place in the FA Cup final at stake. 

The Premier League’s top two played out a thrilling 2-2 draw at Etihad Stadium six days ago, meaning City retained their one-point advantage at the summit after a game in which Pep Guardiola’s side led twice.

Both teams had contrasting midweek assignments in the Champions League, with Liverpool playing out an entertaining 3-3 draw at home to Benfica, meaning they booked a semi-final showdown with Bayern Munich’s conquerers Villarreal by an aggregate margin of 6-4.

City were pushed to the limit in a fractious affair with Atletico Madrid, but a 0-0 draw at Wanda Metropolitano ensured they will return to the Spanish capital to face Real Madrid in the final four.

Those results mean Carabao Cup winners Liverpool remain on course for an unprecedented quadruple, while City are in contention for a treble. One of those statements will no longer be true after a Wembley encounter that must be settled on Saturday – via extra time and penalties if need be.

The Sporting News is live at Wembley, providing updates and commentary below.

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Man City vs. Liverpool live score

  1H 2H Final
MCI 0 — —
LIV 1 — —

Goals: —

Man City vs. Liverpool live update and highlights from FA Cup semi-final

GOAL!!!!! Konate!!!!

He did it in both legs against Benfica and there he is again – Konate powering home a towering header that left Steffen with no chance. It’s no less than Liverpool deserve.

9th minute: Mane pulls out to the right, thuds a cross into Stones and wins a corner. Liverpool looking much sharper.

7th minute: Fernandinho is also back there now to try and help City play out but again they get themselves in a tangle. Klopp will like the look of this.

5th minute: Trouble at the back for City! The usually reliable Bernardo Silva comes back to help build the play with John Stones but botches a simple pass. Liverpool swarm their opponents, an opportunity almost breaks to Keita but Guardiola’s side scramble to safety. 

4th minute: Chance for Grealish! City’s ploy of aiming balls in behind Liverpool’s full-backs from last week bears fruit and Joao Cancelo gets in behind. He found the England man just inside the area. Grealish had time to take a touch but his strike lacked conviction and was blocked.

2nd minute: :Liverpool will be happy to see that. Stones involved Steffen early on and City’s backup goalkeeper lobs a fairly simple pass out of play.

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1 min to KO: There seemed to be a bit of confusion over the moment of remembrance for the anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster there, with some in the City end seemingly thinking it was a moment’s applause. Anyway, here we go.

3 mins to KO: The teams are out. It’s absolutely crackling in here. We’re good to go!

10 mins to KO: It feels like a big afternoon for Jack Grealish. City’s £100m man shone in the Manchester derby as he put together a nice run of form, but he has not started any of the previous three crunch clashes against Atletico Madrid and Liverpool, perhaps to spare him from people pulling his hair. His choice words to Stefan Savic in midweek might have made him a lifetime meme for the City faithful, but he is probably due a statement performance.

20 mins to KO: Warm-ups winding down now. In each of the Premier League games this season, City were comfortably the better side in the first half before a more even contest materialised after the break. Will that pattern repeat again, or does the heavily altered City line-up give Liverpool all the encouragement they need to go hell for leather early on?

35 mins to KO: The teams are now out for their warm-ups and it’s a reminder that Klopp and Guardiola have opted for different approaches with their cup goalkeeper policies. Alisson starts for Liverpool, as he did in the fifth and sixth rounds, with Carabao Cup final hero Caoimhin Kelleher having to be content with a place on the bench.

USA international Zack Steffen returns for City, as is customary in domestic cups. When he spoke yesterday, it sounded like Guardiola had not reached a final decision over who would play between the posts. Steffen is no mug with the ball at his feet, but Ederson’s imperious ability when playing out under pressure will have been given serious consideration given the intensity of the Liverpool press.

50 mins to KO: As expected, the Liverpool line-up is a couple of clicks closer to full strength than City’s. That’s not to say Pep Guardiola doesn’t have a fine array of options at his disposal. Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden, Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus and Jack Grealish is a talent-stacked front five, although usual starters Aymeric Laporte, Rodri and Kevin De Bruyne are all resting up on the bench.

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All the stars Klopp rested against Benfica are back. If we compare this XI to the side that faced City six days ago, there are three like-for-like changes – Ibrahima Konate in for Joel Matip, Naby Keita for Jordan Henderson and Luis Diaz for Diogo Jota, who is fit enough to make the bench.

1 hour to KO: And Guardiola’s XI is also in… 

1 hour 10 mins to KO: The Liverpool team news is in, with the big guns all returning… 

1 hour 15 mins to KO: Liverpool, by contrast, played out a thoroughly fun and wholesome 3-3 draw with Benfica, having carried a 3-1 advantage back to Anfield from the initial encounter in Lisbon.

Trent Alexander-Arnold. Andy Robertson, Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah were all able to put their feet up and enjoy the fun as goals flew in and Benfica had a couple more chalked off for offside. It all ended in handshakes rather than hair-pulling and a seemingly-clean bill of health.

Klopp will have Tuesday’s Premier League meeting with Manchester United in his thoughts but his midweek selection suggested he has prioritised another shot at City, who have lost only one of the previous nine meetings between the sides. Five of those games – including City’s penalty shoot-out win in the 2019 Community Shield – finished as draws, including three of the previous four.

1 hour 30 mins to KO: After keeping them at arm’s length for most of the first leg at Etihad Stadium, City got the full Atletico Madrid and Diego Simeone experience on Wednesday, where they gave as good as they got in a compendium of nonsense that reached boiling point during a rolling brawl at the start of 12 minutes of injury time.

Phil Foden was left unbowed despite a heavily-bandaged head and some meaty challenges but Kevin De Bruyne and Kyle Walker we substituted with injuries. Although their problems are not thought to be serious, they are major doubts for this one at the national stadium.

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Guardiola must also be mindful of City’s Premier League meeting with Brighton on Wednesday, given there remains no margin for error in the title race. Get ready for your latest instalment of Pep Team News Roulette.

1 hour 45 mins to KO: Okay, so here we go again. Six days after that incredible 2-2 draw at Etihad Stadium and more than six months on from the two teams sharing the same scoreline at Anfield, today there will have to be a winner between City and Liverpool.

Pep Guardiola’s side are in contention for a treble, while Jurgen Klopp’s men are targeting an unprecedented quadruple. Since last weekend’s meeting, City and Liverpool charted very different routes to the Champions League semi-finals and those exertions could very well have a big influence on today’s team-sheets and eventual outcome.

2 hours from KO: Welcome to The Sporting News’ live coverage from Wembley, as Liverpool take on Manchester City for the second time in a week. 

MORE: Why did Pep Guardiola pick Gabriel Jesus vs. Liverpool?

How to watch Man City vs. Liverpool

  UK USA Canada Australia
Date April 16 April 16 April 16 April 17
Time 15:30 10:30 ET 10:30 ET 00:30 AET
TV channel BBC One — Sportsnet 360, Sportsnet World —
Streaming BBC iPlayer ESPN+ Sportsnet NOW Paramount+

UK: The FA Cup semi-final will be available to watch in the UK on BBC One and to stream on BBC’s platforms.

USA: Fans can stream FA Cup matches on ESPN+ in the USA.

Canada: Sportsnet has the rights to the FA Cup in Canada and will be showing the game on Sportsnet 360 (TV) and its streaming platform.

Australia: FA Cup matches can be streamed on Paramount+ in Australia.



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