When Manchester City look back at their FA Cup semi-final and analyse how their Treble hopes went up in smoke, they will look to Nathan Ake being outjumped by a dominant Ibrahima Konate and, most damningly, Zack Steffen’s casual approach to possession in his own six-yard box.
On a day when the Blues needed everything to go right, it had all gone wrong inside the first 20 minutes. After the mayhem in Madrid less than 72 hours earlier Pep Guardiola’s side needed to ease their way into the semi-final. Instead, they were on the back foot from the first whistle.
Liverpool would have sensed their time to pounce was early on. City’s win at the Wanda Metropolitano took an emotional and physical toll and they were always vulnerable at Wembley. But any City analysis into this defeat should instead rewind to March 18. That was the date the Champions League quarter-final draw was made and it couldn’t have been any worse for Guardiola’s side.
