Manchester City's spirit against Liverpool cannot be questioned, according to Pep Guardiola, whose team exited the FA Cup on Saturday.
City went down 3-2 in their semi-final clash with the Reds at Wembley, as Jurgen Klopp's team took the bragging rights in this particular tussle and progressed to their 15th FA Cup final, albeit their first since 2012 (only Manchester United and Arsenal have appeared in the competition's showpiece match on more occasions).
Six days on from a thrilling 2-2 draw between City and Liverpool in the Premier League, a much-changed team from Guardiola found themselves 3-0 down at half-time.
Ibrahima Konate put Liverpool ahead early on and Sadio Mane doubled their tally in strange fashion when City's second-choice goalkeeper Zack Steffen made a blunder.
Mane's challenge on Steffen diverted the ball into the back of the net and the Liverpool forward got his second with a fine volley late in the first half.
Jack Grealish dragged City back into the contest and Bernardo Silva's goal set up some late tension, yet there would be no famous comeback.
Guardiola, though, could not fault the resolve of his team.
"Our momentum was there in the second half," he told BBC Sport.
"We had the chances to equalise. It was a difficult fixture because we came from somewhere like only we know where we came from, with games we had and the last five or six days away and people with the problems. The guys put in a lot of pride in the second half.
"We gave everything after a tough first half. For the first goal, the set pieces they are very, very strong. The second was an accident. Difficult to come back but they did it perfectly in the second half."
Asked if his team were feeling fatigued after a tough run of fixtures, Guardiola said: "It was not a question of tired. They were more tired in the first [half], football is not about the tiredness, it is about what you do and how it works and how you play.
"We finally have one or two days off. We know we have seven games and the Champions League, we are going to try to push and see what happens."
City have now lost four of their last five matches at Wembley, including three FA Cup semi-finals in the last three seasons, while they conceded three goals in the first half of a match for the first time since April 2018, when they also did so against Liverpool in the Champions League.
Steffen had to hold his hands up for Liverpool's second goal and arguably should have done better for their third.
The United States international's error for Mane's first effort was similar to a mistake made by team-mate Ederson in last week's clash with Liverpool, though the Brazilian got away with it on that occasion.
"It was an accident," Guardiola said. "One of the strong points is try to play [out] and as a goalkeeper he has this quality.
"It was an accident and he will learn for the future. When the ball is there it can always happen. I have spoken with the team, not him personally, but he is strong."
Cristiano Ronaldo promised Manchester United would keep "fighting until the end" for fourth place in the Premier League after his 50th career hat-trick at club level sank Norwich City at Old Trafford.
The 37-year-old put United two goals to the good early on, but the hosts were out of sorts for large parts of the game and allowed Norwich to get back on level terms by the 52nd minute.
Ronaldo completed a hat-trick in the 76th minute when his 25-yard free-kick was too hot for Tim Krul to handle, the goalkeeper only able to help the ball into the back of the net.
When international football is added to the count, Portuguese star Ronaldo has 60 hat-tricks to his name.
Amid a torrent of praise, United's hero of the hour attempted to quash the significance of his personal milestone, putting emphasis on the significance of the win that boosts United's hopes of playing in next season's Champions League.
It is fourth place that is therefore the target, and defeats for Tottenham and Arsenal on Saturday have allowed United to get back into that mix.
They sit fifth now, three points behind Tottenham and ahead of Arsenal on goal difference; however, United, who face title-chasing Liverpool next, have played one more match that the Gunners.
Ronaldo wrote on Instagram: "Very happy with this win and for getting us back on track in the Premier League.
"Individual achievements are only worth it when they help us reach our goals as a team, and the 60th hat-trick in my career is so much more important because it brought us the 3 points.
"Well done, lads, tremendous effort from everyone. We're not giving up, we're fighting until the end!"
Formula Woman Driver, Sara Misir, is slated to compete at Radical Invasion 2022 on Easter Monday as local Motor sporting action returns to Dover Raceway in St. Ann.
Dubbed ‘Radical Invasion,’ the meet is slated to get underway at 9 am and will feature some 80 racers competing throughout the day across their various classes.
Misir will participate in the Modified Production 3 category.
“We haven’t had local racing at Dover in over two years, so I’m just looking forward to the great atmosphere and seeing local fans again. I’ve missed the racing community, the vendors and just the overall vibe of being at Dover. I look forward to setting a new personal best on the track and having a great race day,” she said.
Misir, who now races with the Formula Women’s team in the GT Cup Championships in the UK, recently emerged as one of four drivers to compete in the series after recording the second-fastest time from a pool of over 75 drivers.
The RJRGLEANER Sports Foundation Awards recently recognized Misir as a 2021 motorsports athlete of the year.
Pep Guardiola joined Manchester City in condemning the fans who chanted during a minute's silence for victims of the Hillsborough disaster prior to Saturday's FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool at Wembley.
The game, which Jurgen Klopp's men won 3-2, was the closest Reds match to Friday's 33rd anniversary of the tragedy, which occurred during an FA Cup semi-final between Nottingham Forest and Liverpool in Sheffield.
A crush in the stands ultimately led to the unlawful deaths of 97 people.
Just before kick-off on Saturday, a minute's silence in memory of the victims began but was then cut short by referee Michael Oliver as some City fans could be heard chanting.
Although seemingly a minority of City supporters, it was clearly audible throughout the stadium and led to angry boos from Liverpool fans.
A statement released by City during the game read: "Manchester City are extremely disappointed with the actions of some City supporters during the minute's silence before today's game.
"The club sincerely apologises to all those connected with Liverpool Football Club."
In his post-match media conference, Guardiola was asked if he wanted to add anything to the statement made by the club.
"Absolutely," he said. "The club made a statement, they [responsible for the chanting] don't represent who we want to be.
"We are close to Liverpool, who went through this tragedy and I think the statement from the club represents who we are."
Reds boss Jurgen Klopp later accepted City's apology, saying at his news conference: "Some people didn't understand the situation.
"It was not nice and felt really wrong in the moment. Of course we accept City's apology."
Jurgen Klopp was overjoyed after seeing Liverpool beat Manchester City 3-2 to reach the FA Cup final in their pursuit of an unprecedented quadruple, convinced they beat the world's best team.
Liverpool secured their spot in the English football showpiece for the first time since 2012 with a thrilling victory at Wembley on Saturday, though for a while it looked set to be far more comfortable than it ultimately proved.
The Reds were 3-0 up at half-time thanks to an Ibrahima Konate header and Sadio Mane's double – his first punished a Zack Steffen lapse, before then lashing in an excellent volley for his second.
City pulled one back through Jack Grealish and forced a tense finish when Bernardo Silva made it 3-2 in stoppage time, but Liverpool held on to leave Klopp jubilant.
"Oh absolutely proud, it's incredible," he told BBC Sport. "I think the first half was one of the best we've ever played.
"We did all the right stuff, scored at the right moments, we played an incredible game in the first half, I have to say. I loved every second of it.
"The second half started with the City goal and then it opens up. The quality of City is insane and you could see it was a much more open game.
"We had our situations. [TV pundit] Micah Richards said it was all City situations, but we had our counter-attacks and we could have closed the game there, but we respect the quality of City so much.
"It's so difficult to win against them, but because of these boys in my dressing room, we have a chance. It's enough for me to give it a try."
The victory means Liverpool remain on course for the quadruple. They have already won the EFL Cup, are into the Champions League semi-finals and continue to push City in the Premier League title race.
Klopp stressed that prolonging their season makes winning the quadruple tougher even if it is the only way to secure a clean sweep, but he appeared to be relishing the challenge after defeating the team that he believes sets the bar for everyone else in world football.
"Quadruple talk… I can't believe it," he continued. "With this game now, I'm not sure we have another full week before the last matchday, so it's all difficult.
"But who cares, we came here wanting to go to the final, we knew about the problems, but the quadruple – qualifying for this kind of final makes it even more difficult.
"It's the only way to do it but makes it more difficult too, so it's a strange situation. But all good, we are over the moon. We beat the best team in the world and that's a pretty special moment."
Liverpool will find out their opponents for next month's final on Sunday, when Crystal Palace and Chelsea tussle at Wembley.
Stefanos Tsitsipas remains on course for a second consecutive Monte Carlo Masters title after recording a straight-sets semi-final win over Alexander Zverev.
The third seed, who defeated Andrey Rublev to clinch the title in Monaco last year, produced a scintillating performance to beat the world number three 6-4 6-2 in Saturday's last-four encounter.
Tsitsipas will face world number 46 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in Sunday's final, and the Greek said he will need to perform at an even higher level to defeat the 22-year-old, whose incredible run continued with a three-set win over Grigor Dimitrov in the final four.
"It was good," Tstispas told Amazon Prime Video of his semi-final win. "I don't know whether the long match [his three-set quarter-final win over Diego Schwartzman on Friday] gave me some rhythm, but I was able to play good tennis today. I'm happy with the level I was able to execute, and I came up with some good ideas on the court.
"I'm looking forward to the next one, I have a difficult opponent tomorrow, so I need to be ready and to take the best out of this one and move on.
"It's going to take a little bit more [to beat Davidovich Fokina], he's in a good rhythm. I've played him before, and he's a difficult opponent, I'm going to be as ready as possible, he's definitely improved and I'm going to have to produce the best tennis I can."
Davidovich Fokina, who has made headlines by eliminating Novak Djokovic and Indian Wells Masters champion Taylor Fritz during a thrilling run in the municipality, beat Dimitrov 6-4 6-7 (2-7) 6-3 earlier on Saturday, reaching his first ATP Tour final.
The unseeded Spaniard needed two hours and 43 minutes to wrap up his semi-final contest, and revealed that a bathroom break allowed him to reset his mind and clinch a hard-fought victory after he failed to serve out the second set at 5-4 up.
"I am so happy to be in the final, it's a dream come true to try to have the title," he said after the win.
"When I was a kid, I was dreaming about this day and it's come true, I'm so happy.
"In the second set I had my chances, I was so tight. But I went to the bathroom [after the second set] and I said to myself 'I want this'. Now I am in the final, I will enjoy, I have all the power with me."
Cristiano Ronaldo reached the remarkable landmark of 50 hat-tricks at club level as he propelled Manchester United to victory over Norwich City.
Ronaldo, who has managed 60 trebles when his goals for Portugal are added to the count, remains an arch predator at the age of 37, and his display at Old Trafford rescued an off-key United team in Saturday's encounter with the Premier League's bottom side.
After reaching 49 club trebles by hitting three against Tottenham last month, Ronaldo brought up a half-century with a close-range strike, a header from a corner and a 25-yard free-kick.
It was his third United treble (one in 2008, two in 2022). He hit three hat-tricks with Juventus and an incredible 44 during a stellar nine-year spell at Real Madrid.
Ronaldo moved to 21 goals for the season in all competitions, going through the 20 barrier for a 16th consecutive campaign, and he now has 99 Premier League goals in his career.
His goals can be broken down further, with all three of his hat-tricks for United coming in the Premier League, while with Juventus he hit two trebles in Serie A and one in the Champions League.
During his time at Madrid, spanning 2009 to 2018, Ronaldo hit 34 hat-tricks in LaLiga, seven in the Champions League, two in the Copa del Rey and one in the FIFA Club World Cup.
He managed five goals in a LaLiga game twice for Madrid, against Granada in April 2015 and against Espanyol in September of the same year, and also plundered five four-goals hauls in the same competition.
Ronaldo also hit four for Madrid in a Champions League game against Malmo in December 2015.
An unlikely quadruple remains very much on for Liverpool after a 3-2 victory against Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.
The national stadium was bathed in sunshine, resplendent, eagerly anticipating round two of arguably the biggest heavyweight clash in world football right now.
Fair enough, technically round three if you include the Anfield game earlier this season, but it felt like a second leg after last week's exhilarating 2-2 draw at the Etihad Stadium that left City one point ahead of the Reds in the race for the Premier League title.
A relatively innocent declaration from former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher recently that this is now the biggest rivalry in English football caused uproar from those who remember the days of Manchester United and Arsenal going at it, publicly hating one another, fiery encounters, pizza lobbing. That rivalry admittedly had it all.
This is a rivalry of quality, though. It would be a stretch to say City and Liverpool like each other, but there is a clear mutual respect, which some claim stops it being a proper rivalry.
It is an odd thing to point to when the same people were seemingly disgusted by the scenes at the Wanda Metropolitano on Wednesday as City and Atletico Madrid players did not exactly shake hands after the final whistle.
There was some ill-feeling in Wembley ahead of kick-off, with a section of City fans choosing to make noise during a moment of silence to mark the anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster, which the Manchester club later condemned in a statement.
Purely from a football perspective, this is as good as it gets, possibly in the world. It is the new Real Madrid v Barcelona, and this was the latest chapter, their first meeting at Wembley since the 2019 Community Shield, which City won on penalties.
Of course, no-one particularly wanted to be at Wembley, as nice as it looked. With travel from the north west of England heavily affected by a lack of train services over the Easter weekend, questions were raised as to why both sets of fans were forced to travel to London to play a game that was not even a final, but that is a conversation for another day.
On this day, it was the red of Liverpool that reigned supreme.
A strong start for Klopp's men saw Ibrahima Konate continue his recent goalscoring form, nodding in his third goal for Liverpool in the space of four games from Andy Robertson's outswinging corner.
The freshness of the Reds told in the early stages, with Klopp having rested a number of key players in the week, while City had experienced a tough away trip to Madrid, and Guardiola was forced to make several changes to his usual line-up.
His decision to swap goalkeepers soon came back to bite him as Sadio Mane closed down Zack Steffen. While Ederson had teased Diogo Jota at the Etihad in a similar way, Steffen could not match the Brazilian's calmness and saw himself tackled by Mane to concede a farcical second.
Liverpool's midfield was masterful at Wembley. Fabinho managed to keep City's band of attacking midfielders relatively quiet, even after picking up a first-half yellow card. Thiago was just as mesmeric as he had been at the Etihad, finding or creating space, making full use of the vast pitch, and it was his sumptuous dinked ball out to Mane that led to the third, with the Senegalese smashing home inside Steffen's near post.
Of all three Liverpool midfielders, though, you could argue it was Naby Keita who stood out most.
The Guinea international has struggled for fitness and consistency pretty much ever since he arrived in a big-money move from RB Leipzig in 2018, but picked ahead of captain Jordan Henderson for this huge game, he did not let his manager down.
Keita won possession seven times, more than any other player on the pitch in the 73 minutes he featured, and with the ball during that time, nearly matched Thiago (26) for passes in the opposition half (24).
Last week's league encounter had seen City dominate the first half before Liverpool came back in the second, and it seemed the reverse was happening here, except the Merseysiders made more of their dominance with a three-goal lead at the break.
Guardiola's men started the second half much quicker, and had pulled it back to 3-1 within minutes, with a nice Gabriel Jesus run ending with Jack Grealish firing home, just days after admitting he wanted to score more goals after his £100million move from Aston Villa last year.
This was not the same City as last week though, quite literally given the number of changes, and they rarely looked like troubling their title rivals after that, with Jesus hitting an effort when through on goal straight at fellow countryman Alisson.
The Premier League leaders struggled, with just one shot in the first half and Grealish's goal their first effort on target. Their passing accuracy was also way down from its usual high standards at just 80.5 per cent, playing more long balls and failing to deal with Liverpool's famous press.
Though he did not find the net himself, the impact of Luis Diaz was clear for all to see again. The Colombian seems to be improving alongside Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah game on game.
He won four fouls as he was a constant thorn in the side of Joao Cancelo, while Mane also carried on the fine form he showed at the Etihad.
The former Southampton man became the first Liverpool player to score twice in an FA Cup semi-final since Robbie Fowler against Aston Villa in 1996, and the first to score a brace for the Reds at Wembley since Steve McManaman in the League Cup final against Bolton Wanderers in 1995.
In typical City fashion, they refused to give up until the end, making things interesting with a second goal back in stoppage time courtesy of Bernardo Silva after fine work from substitute Riyad Mahrez.
This was Liverpool's day, though, and if City struck a blow by staying ahead of the Reds in the league last week, Klopp's men responded with one of their own here as we head towards what promises to be an increasingly fascinating rivalry.
Liverpool fans sang Dua Lipa's 'One Kiss' as they got ready for a long journey back up the motorway, safe in the knowledge that history still beckons this season.
Liverpool's quadruple hopes remain intact as they beat rivals Manchester City 3-2 to secure their spot in the FA Cup final.
The Reds and City are neck-and-neck in the Premier League and could yet contest the Champions League final, but Saturday's win at Wembley made it advantage Liverpool in their 2021-22 trophies duel.
While City were without Kyle Walker and only had Kevin De Bruyne on the bench due to injury, Liverpool restored several key players to their line-up after a midweek rest and it was evident throughout a first half that the Reds dominated.
Liverpool were 3-0 up by half-time thanks to Ibrahima Konate's early header and a Sadio Mane double, with City goalkeeper Zack Steffen at fault for the Senegal forward's first goal.
Jack Grealish pulled one back early in the second period and Bernardo Silva's late tap-in forced a tense finish, but Liverpool held on.
Jurgen Klopp's men were ahead inside nine minutes, Konate towering above everyone to head home Andrew Robertson's corner.
It was 2-0 soon after. Where Ederson escaped a goal-line blunder in their Premier League showdown last weekend, Steffen was punished by Mane as the attacker's tackle saw the ball ricochet into the net.
City seemingly found themselves all but beaten on the stroke of half-time, Mane lashing home on the volley after a sublime Thiago Alcantara pass.
Grealish picked out the top-left corner with a lovely finish of his own just after the restart, and Silva nudged in from close range in second-half stoppage time to set Liverpool nerves jangling.
But it was too little, too late for City as two fantastic defensive blocks helped Liverpool hold firm to reach a first FA Cup final in 10 years.
Tom Rothe made Bundesliga history as Borussia Dortmund cut Bayern Munich's lead at the top of the German top flight to six points in emphatic fashion.
Dortmund thrashed Wolfsburg 6-1 on Saturday, putting pressure on Bayern ahead of their meeting with Arminia Bielefeld on Sunday.
It was Rothe who put Dortmund ahead with a near-post header in the 24th minute, as Marco Rose's side scored five times in a rampant first-half display.
In doing so, Rothe - aged 17 years and 169 days - became the youngest player to score on his Bundesliga debut.
Axel Witsel, Manuel Akanji, Emre Can and Erling Haaland all found the net before half-time, with Haaland then doubling his tally in the 54th minute.
Dortmund face Bayern in Der Klassiker next Saturday, by which point Die Roten will be expected to have restored a nine-point advantage at the Bundesliga summit.
Cristiano Ronaldo's 50th club career hat-trick dug Manchester United out of a hole against lowly Norwich City as the under-par Red Devils won 3-2 at Old Trafford.
The 37-year-old's treble was his second in his past three Premier League appearances and took him to 21 goals for the season, going through the 20 barrier for a 16th consecutive campaign.
Ronaldo moved to 99 Premier League goals in his career, and United could only thank him for sparing them a potentially embarrassing afternoon.
He put United two up early on, but Norwich hit back through Kieran Dowell and Teemu Pukki, only for former Real Madrid and Juventus star Ronaldo to lash a free-kick winner through the grasp of Tim Krul in the 76th minute.
David de Gea sprinted from his line to expertly block Pukki's attempted dink over the goalkeeper in the third minute, and Norwich would soon regret failing to take that golden chance
Ronaldo saw a fizzing 20-yard shot saved by Krul in the seventh minute, but seconds later the United man did better, with Anthony Elanga dispossessing Ben Gibson in the penalty area and squaring for an easy close-range finish.
United kept pressing against opponents who at that point appeared ripe to be picked off, and Ronaldo got their second in the 32nd minute when he headed a corner from the right by Alex Telles past Krul.
Norwich surprisingly got one back in first-half stoppage time when Pukki's cross from the left was nodded in at the far post by an unmarked Dowell.
Incredibly, having been outplayed for so long, Norwich got level after 52 minutes when Pukki tucked past De Gea after Dowell played him in and the striker stayed just onside.
United lacked coherence in attack and were out of sorts throughout, with De Gea having to save well from Milot Rashica to keep the hosts on level terms, but then up stepped Ronaldo from 25 yards to save the day.
Arsenal's chances of securing Champions League football for next season suffered another blow as Jan Bednarek condemned them to a 1-0 loss at Southampton.
Bednarek put the hosts ahead on the stroke of half-time, with Fraser Forster making two excellent saves as Southampton inflicted Arsenal to a third straight Premier League defeat.
Having watched Tottenham suffer a last-minute reverse to Brighton and Hove Albion earlier on Saturday, Arsenal would have moved level with their top-four rivals with a victory.
A flat performance from the Gunners, however, meant Spurs' slip-up went unpunished, allowing Southampton to end a five-match winless run of their own.
Despite the end result, Arsenal did make a bright start, with Cedric Soares drawing a decent save from Forster after cutting in from the right.
Southampton's goalkeeper was forced into a more difficult stop when he brilliantly diverted Bukayo Saka's effort over the bar.
The Saints recovered from their slow start to strike first, though, when Bednarek swept Mohamed Elyounoussi's cut back home from close range after 44 minutes.
Eddie Nketiah went close with a neat backheel after meeting Cedric's cross as Arsenal searched for a response, before Saka almost picked out the top-right corner after cutting in from the right on the hour.
Forster made his second stunning save in the 73rd minute, getting down to his left to turn substitute Emile Smith Rowe's fierce volley away from the corner.
He then denied Saka and Granit Xhaka in the final 10 minutes as Arsenal's season threatens to spiral downwards.
Manchester City say they are "extremely disappointed" with a section of their fans that made noise during a minute's silence ahead of their FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.
The silence was to mark 33 years since the Hillsborough disaster, which claimed the lives of 97 Liverpool supporters.
Although it appeared to be a small number of City fans making noise, it was clearly audible throughout the stadium and led to understandably angry boos from the Liverpool fans.
A statement released by City during the game read: "Manchester City are extremely disappointed with the actions of some City supporters during the minute’s silence before today’s game.
"The club sincerely apologises to all those connected with Liverpool Football Club."
Cristiano Ronaldo extended his astonishing streak of scoring at least 20 club goals in a season when he netted twice before half-time for Manchester United on Saturday.
The Portuguese superstar's double before the break against Norwich City took him to 20 for 2021-22, and he has now reached or passed that mark in 16 consecutive seasons.
His sensational run began during a first spell at United, with Ronaldo first breaking the 20-goal barrier when he scored 23 for the Red Devils in the 2006-07 campaign.
He hit 42 in 2007-08, and during a subsequent nine-year stint at Real Madrid, where he became the club's record scorer, Ronaldo exceeded 50 goals in six consecutive seasons from 2010-11 to 2015-16.
Ronaldo left Madrid in 2018 and remained a clinical finisher for Juventus in Italy, scoring 101 goals across three seasons with the Turin giants before being tempted back to United last August.
While 37-year-old Ronaldo stretches his remarkable record, it seems likely his former LaLiga rival Lionel Messi will see his sequence of 20-goal seasons come to an end.
Argentine great Messi managed 20-plus goals in 13 consecutive seasons for Barcelona, but he has struggled to score with the same regularity during his first year with Paris Saint-Germain. Messi has netted only eight times so far this season for PSG, who have just seven Ligue 1 games remaining.
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