Antoine Semenyo produced one of the great FA Cup final moments as Manchester City beat Chelsea 1-0 at Wembley on Saturday, the Ghana international’s instinctive backheel finish on 72 minutes the difference in a tense final.
Erling Haaland drove from deep and squared the ball across the area, and as it arrived at Semenyo’s feet with his back to goal, he flicked it with his heel past Robert Sanchez in a finish that owed as much to invention as execution.
It was City’s 37th major trophy, another piece of silverware collected in what is shaping up to be one of the most decorated eras in English football history.
For departing captain Bernardo Silva, the day carried an emotional charge. The Portuguese midfielder, confirmed to be leaving City at the end of the season after eight trophy-laden years, became the 19th player in history to lift the FA Cup as a captain ahead of their departure.
“Very special,” he told the BBC at full time. “I am really happy. Everything about my journey here at Man City was fantastic. Since I arrived it has been 20 [trophies], so it is not bad. That was a fantastic goal.”
He added: “In a final there are no favourites. The beginning of the second half, they started really strong. They were putting us under constant pressure and it wasn’t easy.”
On Pep Guardiola, who has also confirmed he will step down this summer: “He changed the way I see football. 80% of my career was with him as my manager. All the things I hoped to achieve were with him. The relationship we have got is very strong with the frustrations and the achievements.”
Semenyo: ‘As a kid I always wanted this’
The man of the moment, still relatively new to life at the Etihad after joining from Bournemouth in January, was also called in to answer questions at full-time.
“It has happened a couple of times in training – it happened perfectly today. Everything happened so fast to be honest. It came straight to me and I had to improvise myself as quickly as I can. It is a good finish, I can’t lie.
“The first thing he (Guardiola) said to me when I came was ‘don’t change your game’. He knows we control the game a lot, he still wants me to be me, still create a bit of chaos.”
With the Premier League title race still alive, Semenyo was already looking ahead. “I don’t think there will be much celebrations tonight – it is getting ready for Tuesday.”
City’s final Premier League fixtures against Bournemouth and Aston Villa now carry the weight of a potential domestic Treble.
Stones: ‘I never would have believed this’
The most poignant moment of the afternoon came after the final whistle, when John Stones – also leaving City after ten years and shut out of the squad for much of the second half of the season – was asked up to lift the trophy alongside Bernardo.
Stones, who made 32 appearances in City’s Champions League-winning season of 2022-23 and has won every major honour the club has to offer, has barely played since December. He was an unused substitute on Saturday.
“I wanted to be involved in the game. As a player it’s hard to take, especially when a lot of us played the semi-final,” he said. “It’s part of adapting and getting behind the team. It wasn’t the best game today in terms of chances or how we actually played in the first half but to stick in there and fight like we did is incredible.”
On being invited to lift the trophy with Bernardo, the England defender was visibly overwhelmed. “I can’t put it into words. I said it before but I never would have believed or thought 10 years ago that this would be happening, I would have a song and be so loved, it’s so overwhelming. It’s really special.#
“It’s been a difficult season. I think the first half of the season I played quite a lot of games and was involved but I picked up a little injury in December and been back since then. It’s football. I haven’t got the answers really for why I haven’t played.”
