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Rob Dawson
Multiple Authors
Erling Haaland has said his season has been “too up and down” after rediscovering his goalscoring form with a hattrick against Liverpool.
The Norwegian striker has struggled in 2026 with the bulk of goals this season coming before Christmas.
But he looked back to his best at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, finding the net three times — his first club hattrick since August 2024 — as City cruised to a 4-0 win to book a record eighth straight FA Cup semifinal.
“It has been too up and down which has not been good enough,” Haaland told TNT Sports.
“For now it is a long week for us because we are not in the Champions League, which is not good enough, but we have to face Chelsea which is another game.”
Haaland got his first of the afternoon with a penalty before scoring a stunning header just before half-time.
His third came after a finish which crashed off the underside of the crossbar from Nico O’Reilly’s pass.
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Afterwards, City assistant Pep Lijnders, on the touchline in place of the suspended Pep Guardiola, branded Haaland’s second goal from Antione Semenyo’s cross as “insane”.
“I worked with a lot of good strikers, with a lot of goals,” Lijnders said.
“The second goal was insane, the way he attacked — he flies — the way he puts the ball to the corner. I love these old-school striker goals.”
Haaland was given extra rest by Norway during the international break and was asked to play in just one of their two games.
It’s likely to be the last break he gets before the end of the World Cup and Lijnders suggested it might have benefitted the 25-year-old.
“It is crazy what we are asking [of Haaland]”, he said.
“Press and run in the box and keep the ball — there are a lot of things we ask and to do that every three days.
“Not everything in a long season will go your way but it shows character and mentality that he comes back in that fashion. He is a machine to work with.”
