A hattrick from Riyad Mahrez sent Manchester City roaring into a place in the FA Cup final and kept their hopes for a treble alive- as they would now face the other team from Manchester- the Red Devils- in the final.
Although Sheffield United went toe-to-toe against Guardiola’s side for quite a large part of the first half, they were ultimately not able to stop the juggernaut- as Mahrez first scored a penalty, and then added two more goals after half-time. The manager of City also made sure to make a few changes to the team ahead of the pivotal Premier League fixture against Arsenal, but it didn’t diminish their strength against Sheffield- who can now focus their attention on winning back promotion from the Championship.
Riyad Mahrez Magic Sends Manchester City Into FA Cup Finals
City was offered a chance to rest some of their key players against Sheffield United- which allowed the other players to step up. Pep had benched Ederson, Ruben Dias, Kevin De Bruyne, and John Stones, and in their absence, Riyad Mahrez showed why he was still so highly appreciated by football pundits all over. Interestingly, Mahrez hadn’t seen the back of the net since February and had been on the bench for both legs of the CL quarter-final against Bayern Munich. Nevertheless, Pep picked him for the starting XI at Wembley, and he managed to score a hat trick that would keep the team on course to winning a treble.
It is slowly turning impossible for Pep Guardiola to stop thinking about the treble, as Manchester City seems to be in pole position to secure it. With Riyad Mahrez’s sublime performance, they would be locking horns with Manchester United for the FA Cup final; will have a pitched battle against Real Madrid in the UCL semi-finals; and will have to contend against Arsenal for what could be the most important fixture in the Premier League.
