Semenyo's back-heel wonder goal wins the FA Cup for Manchester City against Chelsea
Antoine Semenyo produced a moment of individual brilliance to hand Manchester City a 1-0 FA Cup final victory over Chelsea at Wembley Stadium on Saturday, completing an English cup double for Pep Guardiola's side.
The Ghanaian forward, who joined City from Bournemouth in January, received an Erling Haaland cross in the 72nd minute and instinctively back-heeled the ball beyond Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez to settle the contest.
"Everything happened so fast to be honest," Semenyo told the BBC. "It came straight to me and I had to improvise myself as quickly as I can."
"I have never competed for trophies like this before, so everything is new to me. Hopefully, we can finish the job off."
The goal breathed life into what had been a largely cautious affair, with both sides creating opportunities in the closing stages. Rayan Cherki drew a fine stop from Sanchez, while Matheus Nunes struck the woodwork as City pushed for a second.
Departing captain Bernardo Silva, who lifted the trophy alongside fellow outgoing defender John Stones — with the cup presented by Prince William — was keen to look ahead despite the celebration.
"It's really nice to finish this way and maybe we can still have a small dream that we can still fight for the Premier League," the Portugal midfielder said.
City trail league leaders Arsenal by just two points with two games remaining, and Semenyo echoed his captain's focus on the task ahead. "I don't think there will be much celebration tonight - it is getting ready for Tuesday," he said, with City due to face sixth-placed Bournemouth in the Premier League on Tuesday.
The victory was City's eighth FA Cup triumph overall and followed their League Cup success in March, in what may yet prove to be Guardiola's final season at the helm after a decade in charge.
For Chelsea, it was a seventh successive domestic cup final defeat and a fourth in the FA Cup, adding further misery to an already turbulent campaign that has included two managerial changes. Enzo Fernandez, Joao Pedro and Liam Delap all spurned chances on the day, and the club's prospects of securing European football next season are now faint. Their American BlueCo ownership group continues to search for a permanent manager to succeed interim boss Calum McFarlane, who stepped in after Liam Rosenior was sacked. Rosenior himself had lasted fewer than four months at the club following the departure of Enzo Maresca at the turn of the year, with Chelsea languishing in ninth place in the Premier League.
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