London, April 5 -- Erling Haaland hit a hat-trick as Manchester City thrashed Liverpool 4-0 on Saturday to reach the FA Cup semi-finals and increase the pressure on Reds boss Arne Slot. Haaland netted twice late in the first half of the quarter-final at the Etihad Stadium and completed his treble after the interval following an Antoine Semenyo strike. With Liverpool trailing by four, Mohamed Salah had a penalty saved by City goalkeeper James Trafford to compound a miserable afternoon for the under-fire Slot. Liverpool's tame surrender was a bitter blow to Slot, who had to endure chants of "you're getting sacked in the morning" from City fans. They head to Paris Saint-Germain for the Champions League quarter-final first leg on Wednesday with Slot desperately needing a victory over the holders to keep the critics at bay. Liverpool, who have just two wins in their last seven matches in all competitions, are fifth in the Premier League and far from certain to qualify for next season's Champions League. It is a remarkable decline for Slot, who just 12 months ago was on the brink of leading Liverpool to their record-equalling 20th English title. "It's very disappointing to be out, not only in the manner but also the score. Another big disappointment for us," Slot said. "The only good thing was that we didn't concede more." City's ruthless performance took them into the FA Cup semi-finals for an eighth successive season. After beating Liverpool twice in the Premier League this term, City have enjoyed three successive victories over the Reds for the first time since 1937. City have also won 18 consecutive home FA Cup matches, setting a new tournament record. Guardiola's men have found a rich vein of form at just the right time to salvage their season. Trailing Premier League leaders Arsenal by nine points and knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid, City bounced back to beat the Gunners 2-0 in the League Cup final just before the international break. Now they can set their sights on winning the FA Cup for the first time since 2023 while retaining an outside chance of catching Arsenal in the title race. Chelsea also booked their spot in the last four with a 7-0 win over third-tier strugglers Port Vale. Chelsea had failed to score a goal in over 300 minutes of play in all competitions before Saturday, but went ahead in 64 seconds against Port Vale when Jorrel Hato pounced on poor defending by the visitors. Port Vale are bottom of England's third tier but had beaten Premier League Sunderland in the previous round. The 7-0 victory offered some relief to Chelsea coach Liam Rosenior after four defeats in a row in all competitions and ahead of next weekend's visit of Man City in the Premier League....