Mahrez keeps Manchester City treble dream alive with FA Cup hattrick

FA CUP Mahrez keeps Manchester City treble dream alive with FA Cup hattrick

Kiplagat Sang 20:55 - 22.04.2023

City took a giant step closer to the treble after convincingly beating Sheffield United on Saturday.

A Riyad Mahrez hat-trick was enough to give Manchester City a 3-0 FA Cup semi-final win over Sheffield United at Wembley Stadium.

The win means the Citizens will now face the winner of the second semi-final pitting arch-rivals Manchester United against Brighton and Hove Albion. 

City were dominant since Mahrez opened the scoring from the spot kick before he went on to score two more goals.

The Algerian scored the first-ever FA Cup semi-final hat-trick at Wembley and the first in the semi-final of the competition overall since Alex Dawson in 1958 scored for Manchester United against Fulham.

City had the ball in the net in the 15th minute, but it did not count. John Fleck and Julian Alvarez vied for a 50-50 ball, and a lurking Erling Haaland thrashed the ball into the bottom corner before the whistle went.

The goal was cancelled, and a freekick was awarded to the Blades.

The Citizens came close to getting a goal in the 28th minute when Kyle Walker charged into an empty space before setting a cross for Bernardo Silva. Silva went for goal, but Fleck made a crucial block to send the ball behind.

From the corner, Wes Foderingham parried away the high ball into a dangerous area, but it dropped to Daniel Jebbison, who completed the clearance as Sheffield United breathed a sigh of relief.

The deadlock was finally broken in the 43rd minute when City won a penalty after Jebbison made a mistake. He slid in and took Silva down, although it looked like he got the ball first. Erling Haaland stepped aside and allowed Mahrez to take the penalty, and the Algerian made a successful conversion.

The 2019 African Cup of Nations-winning star grabbed his brace a minute after the hour mark. Max Lowe lost possession on halfway, and Marhez collected the ball and sprinted towards Sheffield’s goal. After beating John Egan and Jack Robinson, the African star fired into the bottom corner.

As City continued to dominate, they registered their third goal in the 66th minute. Jack Grealish ran down the left flank before he fed Mahrez, whose first-time shot was too powerful for Foderingham to stop.

A dominant and ruthless City finally progressed to the FA Cup final with another convincing victory at Wembley.

Meanwhile, the Blades are in a good position to get Premier League promotion, as they are seven points ahead of Luton Town in third place with a game in hand.