Second-tier Southampton caused a huge shock by beating Premier League leader Arsenal in the FA Cup quarterfinals on Saturday after Manchester City dispatched Liverpool 4-0 thanks to a hat trick by Erling Haaland.
Fresh off losing the English League Cup final to City before the international break, Arsenal saw another potential trophy slip from its grasp when conceding in the 85th minute to lose 2-1 at Southampton — a team in seventh place in the Championship.
It left City as the big favorite to clinch a cup double this season, with the thrashing of Liverpool securing a place in the FA Cup semifinals for a record eighth straight season.
Mohamed Salah’s failure from the penalty spot added to the woes of Liverpool, whose meltdown at Etihad Stadium will put more heat on under-pressure manager Arne Slot.
Chelsea also advanced, routing third-tier Port Vale 7-0. The semifinal line-up will be completed Sunday when West Ham hosts Leeds, after which the last-four draw will be made.
Arsenal cup hopes disappearing
So much for Arsenal’s hopes of a quadruple of major trophies this season.
It’s now just the Premier League and Champions League up for grabs with manager Mikel Arteta’s decision to field a weakened lineup backfiring at St. Mary’s stadium.
Trailing to a 35th-minute strike by Ross Stewart, Arsenal sent on Viktor Gyokeres — fresh off scoring the goal that lifted Sweden into the World Cup on Tuesday — and the striker equalized in the 68th.
Still, Southampton continued to look dangerous on the counterattack and Shea Charles, a former academy product at Man City, fired home from inside the area to secure a famous win.
“To go and beat arguably the best team in Europe at the minute is an incredible feeling,” Stewart said.
In an added blow to Arsenal ahead of its upcoming Champions League quarterfinal against Sporting Lisbon, Brazil center back Gabriel Magalhaes was forced off with a left knee injury midway through the second half. He was seen later with ice on the knee.
“This is the first moment that we have (this season) with a certain level of difficulty,” said Arteta, whose team has a nine-point lead in the Premier League.
Haaland’s 12th hat trick for City
Haaland’s 18-minute hat trick started with a penalty in the 39th minute after Virgil van Dijk tripped Nico O’Reilly. Then he headed home a cross from Antoine Semenyo in first-half stoppage time, before sweeping in a finish off the crossbar in the 57th.
The Norway striker’s first hat trick of the season for City was his 12th for the club since he joined in 2022.
Semenyo scored the other goal in the 50th for City, which sealed a return to Wembley Stadium two weeks after beating Arsenal there in the League Cup final.
“This club has to win trophies,” said Haaland, who was described after the game as a “machine” by City assistant coach Pep Lijnders — the former Liverpool No. 2 who was deputizing in the dugout while Pep Guardiola served a touchline suspension.
Salah, who announced during the international break he’s leaving Liverpool after nine trophy-filled seasons, was beginning his long goodbye to the Reds but couldn’t mark it with a goal. The best of the many chances he spurned came from a penalty, which City goalkeeper James Trafford palmed away in the 64th.
It was a record 18th straight home win for City in the FA Cup, dating to 2017. Guardiola’s team shared a record with Clapham Rovers for reaching seven consecutive FA Cup finals but now holds it outright.
Many Liverpool fans were seen leaving the stadium after the fourth City goal.
“The fighting spirit wasn’t there enough, the mentality wasn’t there enough,” Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai said. “None of us were there to be honest as much as we could.
“It’s a hard time but we have to stick together.”
Chelsea overwhelms Port Vale
Like City, Chelsea romped to a big win — though this one was expected.
Playing without Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez for disciplinary reasons, Chelsea still had more than enough to dispatch Port Vale at Stamford Bridge thanks to goals by Jorrel Hato, Joao Pedro, Tosin Adarabioyo, Andrey Santos, Estevao and Alejandro Garnacho. There was also an own-goal.
Chelsea has won the FA Cup eight times, most recently in 2018.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer