London: Erling Haaland scored his second hat-trick of the week as Manchester City cruised into the semifinals of the FA Cup with a 6-0 home win over Burnley.
There had been controversy when City coach Pep Guardiola substituted Haaland with half an hour left in their 7-0 win over RB Leipzig in the Champions League in midweek, but the Norwegian showed the wisdom of Guardiola’s decision with goals in the 32nd and 35th minutes Saturday night.
He completed his hat-trick in the 59th minute, before his striker partner Julian Alvarez got in on the act with two goals and Cole Palmer also scored, a Xinhua report said.
Manchester United and Fulham, Brighton and Grimsby and Sheffield United and Blackburn Rovers play the remaining quarterfinals Sunday.
In the Premier League, Chelsea were held to a 2-2 draw at home by Everton, who took a valuable point after Abdoulaye Doucoure and Ellis Simms cancelled out Joao Felix’s goal and Kai Havertz’s 76th minute penalty.
James Ward-Prowse’s injury-time penalty capped Southampton’s fightback from 3-1 down to save a valuable point at home in the 3-3 draw with Tottenham Hotspur.
Pedro Porro put Tottenham ahead at the end of the first half, only for Che Adams to level in the 46th minute. Harry Kane and Ivan Perisic looked to have sealed a win for Spurs with goals in the 65th and 74th minute, but Theo Walcott gave Southampton hope with 13 minutes remaining and Ward-Prowse capped the comeback from the penalty spot.
Leeds United took a big step towards safety with a 4-2 win away to Wolves, thanks to goals from Jack Harrison, Luke Ayling, Rasmus Kristensen and Rodrigo Moreno, while a bad day for Wolves also saw Jonny Castro and Matheus Nunes sent off in the closing minutes.
Goals from Douglas Luis, Jacob Ramsey and Emiliano Buendia gave Aston Villa a comfortable 3-0 win at home over Bournemouth, while Leicester City ended a four-game losing streak with a 1-1 draw away to Brentford.
IANS
