Riyad Mahrez was the hat-trick hero, eclipsing Erling Haaland as Manchester City breezed past Sheffield United to the FA Cup final and on toward the Treble.
So Manchester City are through to the FA Cup final then, one step closer to the Treble that would be the crowning glory of the Abu Dhabi United project. And there was a hat-trick hero among their number at Wembley, though it wasn’t the guy everybody would have expected. Take a bow, Riyad Mahrez, now Manchester City’s second-highest goalscorer in all competitions this season – 33 behind the leader.
Pep Guardiola made six changes from the team that started against Bayern Munich but Erling Haaland started, his first match at Wembley. Whether motivated by a desire to help him break the record for the number of goals scored in one season, or to give him the experience of a cup match in front of pushing 70,000 people at a big stadium, it was a decision that said something; it was just impossible to tell exactly what.
Haaland is the sort of player who cannot thrive without delivery, and the focus on this one single player this season has left everybody else in the shade. Jack Grealish, among others, has really come of age, fulfilling the promise that was always perfectly evident in his younger years. Both started, with Grealish an impish presence on the left throughout, despite the near-Pavlovian boos that greeted him every time he got the ball. He would come to have his influence in the second half.
Otherwise, it was a much-changed team. Ederson was replaced by Stefan Ortega, who distinguished himself early on with a save after less than 90 seconds, when he blocked a Iliman Ndiaye shot from the first corner of the game.
Ruben Dias, John Stones, Kevin De Bruyne and Rodri joined Ederson on what felt more like a line of substitutes’ thrones than anything that could realistically be described as a ‘bench’. In the trade, this was what is known as a flex.
Sheffield United, meanwhile, arrived for this match with enough on their plate already. A return to the Premier League is so close that they can almost reach out and touch it. But while this semi-final might have had a hint of a foregone conclusion about it before it even started, the hope of the football supporter really does spring eternal. Thousands of fans made the trip to London for an awkwardly timed 4.45pm kick-off, presumably more in hope than expectation. And small wonder. In the previous round of this very competition, Manchester…
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