- Man City beat Chelsea
- Antoine Semenyo the standout player
- Nunes and Khusanov solid in defence
Manchester City have defeated Chelsea to win the FA Cup thanks to a special Antoine Semenyo goal.
We’ve rated each of Man City’s players based on how they performed, in a match where they did just about enough to beat an underwhelming Chelsea side.
Man City player ratings
James Trafford – 6.5
Did not have all that much to do, except for one or two moments in the second half. He will be happy to have kept two clean sheets in both domestic cup finals this season.
Matheus Nunes – 8.5
Showed his physicality with some important defensive challenges. Every time a Chelsea player had the ball near the right-back, they were always at risk of being muscled off it. The 27-year-old almost scored towards the end, with Sanchez saving the ball onto the post.
Abdukodir Khusanov – 8
Made an excellent shoulder to shoulder challenge at the end of the first half to deny Joao Pedro. He used his physicality to do something similar with just over 10 minutes remaining.
Marc Guehi – 7.5
Did his job defensively, making nine defensive contributions. Guehi also played the most passes and had the most touches.
Nico O’Reilly – 7.5
Played a good cross to Antoine Semenyo which should have at least resulted in a shot on target. However, he had a similar opportunity to play a killer pass later on, but sent a drilled effort behind the players in the box. In fact, O’Reilly could have even attempted a shot himself. He played another drilled ball to Haaland which was blocked. Good running, but the end product could have been better.
Rodri – 6
Came into this match without any match preparation since returning from injury. It seems Rodri still needs time to warm back into things, because he did not appear fully fit today.
Bernardo Silva – 7
Gave the ball away to Joao Pedro late in the first half, requiring a challenge from Khusanov to bail him out. Could have got Enzo Fernandez sent off after a reckless challenge from the Argentine, but the referee decided to remain lenient.
Antoine Semenyo – 9
Had a headed chance straight after half-time. Semenyo did well to beat the defender, but he failed to hit the target. However, the winger came up with a moment of brilliance in the second half, backheeling the ball into the bottom left corner of the net.
Omar Marmoush – 5
Made very little impact in the first half and was hooked at half-time. Playing a strike partnership was the wrong decision, with Marmoush unable to build on his run of two goals in two games.
Jeremy Doku – 7.5
This was not the Belgian’s best performance in recent weeks, but he still completed more dribbles than any other player.
Erling Haaland – 7.5
Looked to have ended his spell of failing to score in cup finals after netting in the first half. However, the linesman raised his flag. Shortly before the break, the striker forced Robert Sanchez into a save, which was quite straightforward to make. Haaland was unable to get the goal he so desperately wanted, but he did assist Semenyo.
Subs
Rayan Cherki – 7
Attempted a powerful effort late in the game which needed more direction to beat Sanchez. The 22-year-old should probably have started.
Mateo Kovacic – 6.5
Moved the ball around quicker than Rodri when he came on
