Antoine Semenyo’s sublime flick gave Man City a 1-0 victory over Chelsea in the FA Cup final at Wembley.
The winger has been in the spotlight since joining from Bournemouth for £64m in January and his 10th goal in City colors was special on the big stage. Erling Haaland sent a low cross into the box and Semenyo held off Levi Colwill and glanced the ball into the far corner with his right heel.
Semenyo scored the opening goal in the FA Cup final with a deft backheel flick.
City needed inspiration to cut through Chelsea’s stubborn defence, and Semenyo provided it. Despite losing consecutive games in the FA Cup final, they were champions once again, winning a double domestic cup title following their success in the Carabao Cup in March. This brings the number of major trophies Pep Guardiola has won with City to 20. How many more people are there?
Chelsea opened the scoring with Rodri clearing Moises Caicedo’s header on goal and flicking it into the roof of the net as Enzo Fernandes looked to equalize. The team were also given a series of penalties, with caretaker manager Callum McFarlane citing Abdukhodir Kusanov’s shot on Jorel Hato as one that should have been awarded.
However, it was Chelsea’s fifth successive Wembley final without a goal. Former City Academy star Cole Palmer spent the majority of the match trying to stop Jeremy Doku and was unable to provide a spark to his opponent.
Not only did Chelsea miss out on the trophy, they also missed out on the Europa League qualification that would have come with it. It is unlikely that they will win this award even if they finish in the top seven in the Premier League. With two games remaining in a frustrating season, they have closed the gap by two points to Brentford in eighth place and their only goal remains to advance to the Conference League.
Enzo Fernandes was booked for this tackle on Bernardo Silva
In the end, it was too big a task for Chelsea and caretaker manager Callum MacFarlane. City had a strong finish, with Roberto Sanchez hitting the post after Matheus Nunez’s shot, and Rayan Cherki’s shot being well saved by the keeper. We also delivered at the end of this season.
It will take Arsenal’s blunder to add an unlikely Premier League title to this season’s trophy collection, but City enjoyed these celebrations. Guardiola joked before the match that there would be a stand named after him at Wembley, but he has spoken out again. He still has one year left on his contract with City but seems determined to celebrate on the famous field.
Guardiola: This trophy is really cool!
Man City manager Josep Guardiola:
“I felt that we were better than we were today against Crystal Palace last season and against Manchester United two seasons ago because we were more clear about what we had to do. But like last season, in these kinds of games the difference is very small. Maybe they were penalties[for Chelsea]. Last season it was (should have been) a red card for[Dean]Henderson.”
“This trophy is really, really great! It’s really special for the tradition and it’s great to be able to bring it back to Manchester after two defeats.”
Silva celebrates ‘special’ FA Cup win
Man City’s Bernardo Silva told BBC Sport:
“It’s special, I’m really happy. Everything about my journey here at Man City has been great. Hopefully I can still hold onto that little dream of competing for the Premier League.”
“Today we are very happy. It was my last season so it’s special to be able to give them another trophy. Hopefully it’s not the last.”
“We’ve won 20 (trophies) since I’ve been here, so it’s not bad. It was a great goal. There are no favorites in the final. At the beginning of the second half, they started really strong. They put us under constant pressure and it wasn’t easy.”
MacFarlane: “Chelsea should have had a penalty”
Chelsea interim manager Callum MacFarlane:
“I thought it was an even game. Both teams had momentum at different times. They were really good teams.
“Congratulations to Man City. It was a disappointing result.
“As far as the penalty incident goes, the collision between Hato and Kusanov is a penalty. Even if Joler comes forward, it’s a foul wherever he is on the pitch.”
what happens?
Chelsea play Tottenham at home with kick-off at 8.15pm on Tuesday, before finishing their Premier League campaign at Sunderland on Sunday 24th May at 4pm.
Man City will also be in action on Tuesday, traveling to Bournemouth with a 7.30pm kick-off, before finishing the season at home to Aston Villa on May 24, also with a 4pm kick-off.
