Antoine Semenyo opens goal account in Manchester City’s big win

Antoine Semenyo hit the ground running under Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola after getting a goal and an assist during their 10-1 FA Cup win over lower tier side Exeter City on Saturday.

 

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The Ghanaian forward opened his goal account after pouncing on Rayan Cherki’s pass to slot in beautifully behind Exeter keeper Joe Whitworth in the 54th minute for Manchester City’s fifth on the evening after he had assisted Rico Lewis with their fourth five minutes earlier.

The Citizens had scored four times already in the first half through Rodri and Max Aleyne plus two own goals by Jake Doyle-Hayes and Jack Fitzwater. Tijani Reijnders, Nico O’Reilly, Ryan McAidoo scored each with Exeter pulling a consolation through George Birch before Rico Lewis iced the cake for City in added time.

Semenyo’s performance is a feather in his cap after joining the Citizens from Bournemouth in a deal worth £65m with the amount rising to £75m including bonuses and will keep him at the Etihad Stadium until 2031.

The 26-year-old will wear the number 42 jersey which was previously worn by Yaya Toure during his eight season’s stint at City where he won three premier league titles, one FA Cup, two Football League Cup and one Community Shield.

Semenyo who previously played for Bristol City, New Port County, Bath City and Sunderland, has scored 10 goals from 20 games sitting behind new teammate, Erling Haaland (20).

He played a key role in Ghana’s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification where the four time African champions booked a fifth appearance and will be facing Panama, England and Croatia in Group L at the World Cup to be co-hosted by Canada, USA and Mexico.

In another fixture of the English FA Cup round 3, Zambia forward Patson Daka registered a goal as Leicester City won 2-0 at Cheltenham Town on Saturday.

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