Manager Guardiola had to watch from the stands as he served the second game of a touchline ban and he witnessed his team take apart toothless Liverpool in a result that will increase the pressure on boss Arne Slot. City's previous game was at Wembley, when they triumphed over Premier League leaders Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final, and the hosts backed that up with another impressive victory to close on a domestic cup double. City had done little to threaten Giorgi Mamardashvili's goal until taking the lead on 38 minutes when Haaland converted from the penalty spot, just as he did at Anfield in the league this season, following Virgil van Dijk's clumsy trip on Nico O'Reilly. The Norway striker had been on a relatively barren run in front of goal before this game but he then added a second by guiding a header into the far corner from Antoine Semenyo's cross on the stroke of half-time. Liverpool had played fluently earlier in the game at Etihad Stadium - with Florian Wirtz prominent - but their inability to convert the chances they created proved costly. City failed to deal with a long ball over the top but Mohamed Salah, playing for the first time since announcing he will leave Anfield this summer, hesitated when through on goal and his effort was blocked wide. He also later had a penalty saved by James Trafford while Hugo Ekitike's strike from inside the area flew wastefully over. City were much more clincical, as Semenyo clipped in a delightful finish early in the second half to make it 3-0 before Haaland completed his treble to seal City's serene progression to the last four.

Port Vale sit bottom of League One, 15 points from safety, but they reached the FA Cup last eight for the first time in 72 years by knocking out Premier League Sunderland. This, however, was a brutal conclusion to their excellent campaign in the competition as Chelsea's multi-million-pound side ran riot against a team who started with eight free transfers and two loan players. Chelsea ensured the notion of another giant-killing was extinguished swiftly, starting with a goal after 64 seconds when Jorrel Hato poked home from close range after Vale failed to clear a corner. Vale, roared on by 6,000 raucous fans in the Shed End, initially responded well to that early shock, but the contest was effectively over in the 25th minute when Joao Pedro turned Kyle John in the area before beating keeper Joe Gauci. Chelsea increased their lead three minutes before the break when Gauci pushed out Malo Gusto's cross and Cole Palmer's follow-up attempt went in off Jordan Lawrence-Gabriel. It was then a question of damage limitation for Jon Brady's side, but that was beyond them too, as Tosin Adarabioyo headed Chelsea's fourth after 57 minutes from Malo Gusto's cross. As Vale lost heart and hope, Andrey Santos added Chelsea's fifth with a far-post header from Estevao Willian's corner. Estevao then got on the scoresheet himself eight minutes from time when he scored after Alejandro Garnacho hit the post, the goal being awarded after a lengthy video assistant referee check for offside. Garnacho completed the rout from the penalty spot in stoppage time.

Real, who trailed 1-0 at the break, fought back in the second half to turn the contest around but were forced to hang on in the closing stages after Federico Valverde was shown a straight red card for a foul on Alex Baena - a player he has history with. Ademola Lookman had opened the scoring for Atletico against the run of play with a close-range finish after a wonderful backheel from Giuliano Simeone, son of manager Diego. Vinicius levelled from the penalty spot after Brahim Diaz was upended by David Hancko and the hosts went in front when Valverde latched on to a defensive mistake and placed the ball past visiting goalkeeper Juan Musso. At that stage Alvaro Arbeloa's side looked like they were going from strength to strength. However, Nahuel Molina's stunning 25-yard strike, that arrowed into the top corner, briefly silenced the Bernabeu as Atletico restored parity. But Vinicius curled in the winner six minutes later after collecting substitute Trent Alexander-Arnold's pass - his 10th goal in his past 11 matches. Alexander-Arnold, who was omitted from the England squad named this week, impressed after replacing Real captain Dani Carvajal in the 64th minute. Jude Bellingham, who is part of Thomas Tuchel's plans for the friendlies against Japan and Uruguay, also made his return after the break having missed 10 matches with a hamstring injury. While Real were also able to send Kylian Mbappe on from a star-studded substitutes' bench, the dismissal of Valverde changed the complexion of the contest late on. Argentina forward Julian Alvarez was unfortunate to see his effort cannon against the post as Atletico pushed for a second equaliser. And Real were able to hold on to record their first victory against their neighbours in the Spanish top flight since September 2022. Barcelona had moved seven points clear of Real Madrid with a 1-0 win over Rayo Vallecano earlier on Sunday.

Nico O'Reilly scored twice in four second-half minutes as Pep Guardiola's side overpowered the Premier League leaders with an outstanding display. It was a day of pain for Arsenal and manager Mikel Arteta, whose decision to keep faith with goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga in this competition instead of first choice David Raya backfired badly. Kepa gifted City their first goal on the hour when he dropped Rayan Cherki's routine cross for O'Reilly to pounce with a stooping header. O'Reilly swiftly doubled City's advantage, arriving at the far post to power home Matheus Nunes' cross with another header - Guardiola sprinting down the touchline in celebration. City's win means Guardiola becomes the first manager to win the EFL Cup five times, while Arteta and Arsenal must wait to claim their first silverware since the FA Cup in 2020.

Ronald Araujo headed home a Joao Cancelo corner to give the hosts the lead after 24 minutes. However, they could have been behind in the first minute when Carlos Martin had a tap in from six yards, but goalkeeper Joan Garcia raced out to close down the angle. That was Rayo's only shot on target in a largely uneventful first half. Raphinha fired an effort towards the top corner but it took a deflection and Rayo goalkeeper Augusto Batalla did well to push it on to the crossbar. After the break, Garcia produced a brilliant save to stop Unai Lopez's close-range header from drawing Rayo level. Pacha Espino curled a shot over the bar for Rayo in the 83rd minute as Barca clung on for a vital win. Real Madrid face rivals Atletico Madrid later on Sunday (20:00 GMT) as they look to close the gap back to four points. Hansi Flick's side travel to Atletico after the international break on Saturday, 4 April before facing them twice more in the Champions League quarter-finals.