- Semenyo reflects on playing with Haaland
- Highlights a key challenge defenders face
- Opens up on what he’s learning
Antoine Semenyo has delivered an honest verdict involving Erling Haaland after experiencing both sides of facing the Manchester City striker.
Anyone who’s played against Erling Haaland knows what a nightmare he can be to defend against. The Norwegian striker has quickly become one of the best target men in the world since his breakthrough at Red Bull Salzburg.
Many past and present City players have played against Haaland, be it in a Sky Blues shirt or otherwise, and they know why their managers would ask more than one defender to mark the striker.
Likewise, the 25-year-old’s current teammate, Antoine Semenyo, can back this claim, who joined City only in 2026. The Ghana international talked about Haaland in a recent interview and elaborated on the striker’s impact.
Antoine Semenyo talks about the Haaland threat
Semenyo recently sat down with Men in Blazers, where he opened up about his time at the Etihad so far, ahead of the Arsenal clash.
He also mentioned how he learns from Haaland and prefers playing with him rather than against, considering the threat he poses.
“It’s a relief! He’s always a threat against him; you can see it being in the team now; everyone wants to mark him out, two, three players at one go. That’s the kind of threat he poses”, he told Men in Blazers.
On learning from him: “He’s amazing, great guy, obviously a great player to play with, top goalscorer. I learn a lot from him on the pitch in terms of movement in the box, finishing. I’m adding it to my game. Overall, he’s a lovely guy!”
Haaland’s impact even when he’s overloaded
Despite dominating multiple games a season, there are matches where the striker just doesn’t convert. This ususally happens when opposition managers can contain Haaland by overloading him.
However, this also doesn’t render the 25-year-old useless. It actually opens up space for other attackers to step up.
Hence, even when he isn’t contributing directly, his containment leads to gaps in the opposition’s defensive lines.
Semenyo’s shift alongside Haaland
We can clearly see the change in Semenyo’s efficiency following his move to Man City. Last season, the winger scored 11 goals in 36 starts with 3.51 shots averaged per 90.
However, this season with the Sky Blues, the 26-year-old has already scored 15 goals in 30 starts. This output is backed by a drop in shots per 90 (2.45).
In conclusion, Semenyo is already learning from Haaland and is also taking advantage of the opportunities that follow after the striker is overloaded. However, these are not the only reasons for his improvement and moving to a better team has also had an impact.
