Manchester City defeated Chelsea at Wembley to win manager Pep Guardiola’s third FA Cup. The coach took full advantage of the moment after the final whistle.
Josep Guardiola celebrates after winning another trophy with Man City
Antoine Semenyo was one of this season’s signings and produced one of the great goals in the FA Cup.
Manchester City winger Semenho’s sensational backflick has earned Pep Guardiola and his incredible winning machine yet another trophy.
City have already played in both domestic cup competitions after also winning the Carabao Cup and are clearly not giving up on the title just yet.
Semenyo played a huge role in their impressive and intimidating push towards glory in the second half of the season. The Ghanaian winger’s signing from Bournemouth in January for just £62.5m has proven to be a considerable sum, as he has brought a whole new attacking dimension to Bournemouth.
Jeremy Doku has dominated all the headlines in recent weeks, but Semenyo produced a man-of-the-match performance and an outstanding goal in this final, sparking celebrations after the final whistle.
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After losing the previous two FA Cup finals, Guardiola was third time lucky as he lifted the trophy for the third time. And you’d have to be pretty naive not to notice that Guardiola took it all in, receiving special hugs from players and even hugging security guards on the pitch.
Is it goodbye? Guardiola has enjoyed a brilliant decade at the Etihad and questions remain over his long-term future, as even workaholic geniuses need a break from time to time.
But Guardiola will also be walking away from something very special. Because while this team isn’t the typical all-conquering City team, it’s still entertaining and has a winning habit.
This was a tough one for them as Chelsea gave them a tough test and despite interim manager Callum McFarlane being in charge, they played well and needed something special to shake their resolve.
Guardiola thanks Antoine Semenyo after his moment of brilliance
He was there at Chelsea at one point, but you sometimes wonder where he was hiding for the majority of the season. They only show up when they feel like it.
Semenyo broke the deadlock after 72 minutes, just as the game seemed to be in limbo.
But that’s when City steps up. Erling Haaland is yet to break the Wembley curse and has yet to score a goal at this special stadium, but he did the next best thing by providing an assist.
City are a better team overall and no player deserved it more than Bernardo Silva, who is certain to leave in the summer.
City fans serenaded Silva and Guardiola in the trophy lift, as the other end was empty, because it felt like a special moment. No matter how many trophies they win under Guardiola, they always enjoy the moment.
Bernardo Silva lifts what could be his last trophy as a Man City player
City did it this time, as Guardiola not only took off the handbrake, but put City’s giants into turbo mode. Even by his standards, this was a very attacking 4-2-4 formation.
Jeremy Doku and Semenyo were deployed on the wings, with Haaland and Omar Marmouche in the middle. However, Haaland’s shot wide of the target was denied by Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez.
Chelsea took a long time to get going, but got used to the game and almost leveled the scores by half-time. Guardiola replaced the helpless Marmouche with Rayan Cherki, and City immediately got to know them better.
Moises Caicedo’s header was cleared on the opponents’ goal line before City began to take control. They have a winning mentality to get the job done.
City regained their place in the FA Cup after losing the last two finals
Cherki found Haaland and his low cross was perfect to Semenyo, who produced some great skill and backheeled the ball into the far corner.
City saw through it. Chelsea tried but couldn’t reach it. There was a lovely moment towards the end of stoppage time when Haaland screamed for the ball inside the box.
However, when it finally got to him, he turned away to shorten the time rather than heading for the goal to end the duck. It’s all about winning. And City will do its best.
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