FA Cup: Sadio Mané Scores Twice As Liverpool Beat a Below Par Manchester City to Book a Spot in the Final

• Liverpool took the lead within the first ten minutes of the game thanks to Ibrahima Konate’s header
• Sadio Mané punished a poor Manchester City defence in the first half as he grabbed two goals to set Liverpool on their way to victory
• Manchester City showed more fight in the second half as Jack Grealish and Bernando Silva made things interesting

Liverpool marched on to the final of the FA Cup with a 3-2 victory over Manchester City.

Before the game even started, the biggest talking point was the exclusion of Ederson from the starting lineup. Pep Guardiola opted to go with American, Zack Steffen and proved costly.

Liverpool took in the lead in the ninth minute of the game with Ibrahima Konate heading home from a corner.

Steffen came in for some criticism for the goal as commentators questioned whether he could have done more to save it. The Reds pushed forward and got a second less than ten minutes later thanks to an error by Steffen.

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City were relaxed at the back, choosing not to clear the ball but pass around in defence. The ball made its way to Steffen who took his time in trying to get rid of it. The American delayed a bit too long and before he could clear it, Sadio Mané slid in, knocking the ball into the back of the net.

With a raucous fan base behind them, Liverpool continued to push. City had their fair share of the ball but lacked any creativity in the final third. City fans began to grow more frustrated as the half wore on, with City players often giving away sill freekicks.

They had even more reason to be frustrated before half time when Mané made it three. A brilliant Liverpool build up saw Thiago chip a ball towards Mané with the Senegalese striker producing a brilliant sliced volley to find the back of the net.

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City started the second half much more determined and got a goal back within two minutes of the restart. Gabriel Jesus worked his way into the box and found Jack Grealish who made no mistake in putting the chance away. City pushed forward still but the match started to level out as Liverpool started to have more of the ball in the second 45.

City had more chances to pull a second goal back as Jesus saw an effort saved well by Allison in the 70th minute. Mohamed Salah could have made it four just minutes later but his effort proved to be just too high.

The tie looked to be over until the 90th minute when Mahrez tore down the right wing and his effort found its way to Bernardo Silva who tapped in. With four minutes of extra time, City peppered the Liverpool defence with attempts, trying to get the equaliser.

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It would go in vain and Liverpool had the best chances to kill the game off in extra time. Salah and Roberto Firmino both squandered chances but it didn’t make a difference as Liverpool booked their place in the FA Cup final.

FA Cup: It's Red vs Blue at Wembley as Manchester City and Liverpool do battle for a place in the final

Earlier Sports Brief reported that Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp will renew their rivalry when Manchester City and Liverpool meet at Wembley later today.

The two sides will meet for the second time in the space of a week when they contest the FA Cup semi-final. The two sides met in the Premier League last weekend, playing out to an entertaining draw.

The title rivals have only met 7 times in the FA Cup before, with honours pretty even between the two. Liverpool have won three games while Manchester City have won two and there have been two draws.