Manchester City's Antoine Semenyo (centre left) celebrates following victory over Chelsea at Wembley in the FA Cup final. (Photo by John Walton/PA Wire)placeholder image
Manchester City's Antoine Semenyo (centre left) celebrates following victory over Chelsea at Wembley in the FA Cup final. (Photo by John Walton/PA Wire)
Manchester City kept alive their hopes of winning a domestic treble as Antoine Semenyo’s sensational second-half finish broke Chelsea’s resolve to settle the FA Cup final 1-0 at Wembley.
It took a moment of breathtaking improvisation to unpick a Chelsea side that had set up to defend and did so with great discipline and resolve, only to be downed 18 minutes from time by what was surely the goal of the City winger’s career so far.
Bernardo Silva fed Erling Haaland into a channel down the right and he looked up to see Semenyo being tightly marshalled by Levi Colwill. In a flash of brilliance, marrying quick thinking with deftness of touch, Semenyo allowed the ball through his legs, hung a deliberate right boot behind him and diverted a finish across the dive of Robert Sanchez into the corner.
Here are the Press Association player ratings:
Robert Sanchez: Made good save to deny Haaland and Cherki but was beaten all ends up by Semenyo’s superb backheel. 6 (out of 10)
Malo Gusto: Made a good fist of keeping the in-form Jeremy Doku quiet. 6
Levi Colwill: One of the busier members of Chelsea’s backline, almost created a goal with a flick-on in the box. 6
Wesley Fofana: Strong showing, got forward when possible. 6
Jorrel Hato: Made some driving runs but was caught offside in one good move. 6
Marc Cucurella: Came into the game after the break but was taken off after City took the lead. 6
Reece James: Had an awkward early moment up against Haaland but was a strong influence on the Chelsea side. 7
Moises Caicedo: Ran tirelessly but could not impose himself. 6
Enzo Fernandez: Fired up and, despite two bad challenges, was one of Chelsea’s biggest threats. 7
Cole Palmer: Had little impact early on but carried more threat as the game opened up. 6
Joao Pedro: Forced errors and got behind the City defence a few times but could not get a clear sight of goal. 7
Substitutes:
Pedro Neto (for Cucurella, 74): Injected some energy but time ran out for Chelsea. 6
Liam Delap (for James, 83): Failed to take a late chance. 5
Alejandro Garnacho (for Pedro, 86): Arrived too late to make an impact. 5
MANCHESTER CITY
James Trafford: Looked shaky at times and gifted Chelsea one corner but kept a clean sheet. 6
Matheus Nunes: Made some good runs down the right without being a consistent threat. 7
Abdukodir Khusanov: Needed all his pace to come out on top in his tussle with Pedro. 7
Marc Guehi: Rock-solid at the heart of City’s defence. 7
Nico O’Reilly: Found space and made some strong runs, particularly as the game wore on. 7
Rodri: Made a headed clearance off the line but solid rather than spectacular on return from injury. 6
Bernardo Silva: Escaped after an error almost let Pedro in, his driving run led to Semenyo’s goal. 7
Antoine Semenyo: Made the decisive contribution with a brilliant finish after threatening on several occasions. 8
Jeremy Doku: Looked to run at defenders at every opportunity but Chelsea kept a close watch. 6
Omar Marmoush: Surprisingly selected ahead of Cherki, unsurprisingly made way for him after a quiet first half. 5
Erling Haaland: Unfazed after a quiet first half, drove City forward and made the telling pass for Semenyo’s goal. 7
Substitutes:
Rayan Cherki (on for Marmoush, 46): Did occasionally lose the ball but City looked far more potent after his entrance. 6
Mateo Kovacic (on for Rodri, 65): Did a solid job after Rodri tired. 6