Man City 4-0 Liverpool: Dominik Szoboszlai critical of his team's "mentality" in damaging defeat to Premier League rivals

By Matt Law | 04 Apr 2026 15:25, Last updated: 04 Apr 2026 15:27

"The fighting spirit wasn't there" - Szoboszlai critical of Liverpool "mentality" in damaging defeat

Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai has said that his side lacked "fighting spirit" during Saturday's 4-0 defeat to Manchester City in the FA Cup.

The Reds missed the chance to qualify for the semi-finals of the tournament, as they were comfortably beaten by their Premier League rivals in the final eight.

Erling Haaland netted three times for Pep Guardiola's side, while Antoine Semenyo was also on the scoresheet, during what was a tough afternoon for Liverpool, with Mohamed Salah missing a second-half penalty for the Merseyside outfit.

Szoboszlai played the full 90 minutes of the contest in Manchester but was unable to help his team pick up a positive result.

The Hungary international has accused Liverpool of lacking "fighting spirit" and not having the right "mentality" during the FA Cup quarter-final.

Man City 4-0 Liverpool: Szoboszlai criticises Reds for lacklustre performance in FA Cup quarter-final

"I don't know. When you do something and there is no result for it it makes no sense. We had chances and missed them, we conceded an easy penalty. We lose 4-0. We cannot concede as much as we concede. Nothing else to say," Szoboszlai told TNT Sports.

"It's hard to win here. After 1-0 down you still believe. At 2-0 down, it's our own fault to come in at half-time conceding in the last minute another goal. At 2-0 the chances are lower and lower.

"You come out and want to show we are able to come back and you concede a third one, from then on there is no more chance to come back.

"The fighting spirit wasn't there enough, the mentality wasn't there enough. None of us were there to be honest as much as we could.

Szoboszlai says Liverpool lacked a "fighting spirit" vs. Man City

"It's a hard time but we have to stick together. On Wednesday there is another chance but we have to get in our head this is not the season we would like to end.

"We have to forget as much as we can and as soon as we can and just keep on fighting all the time.

"I always say when we do it and we are winning, when we don't do it we are losing. You have to fight, work hard, be there for each other and that's what we are missing sometimes."

Liverpool's attention will now switch to the Champions League, preparing to take on Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their quarter-final in France on Wednesday night.

Arne Slot's team will then switch their attention back to the Premier League and their battle to secure a top-five finish, with Fulham their opponents in England's top flight next Saturday.