January signings Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi shone for Manchester City in a tense 1-0 FA Cup final win over Chelsea at Wembley.<\/p>\n
Semenyo’s 72nd-minute flick broke the deadlock for City to seal a domestic cup double and 20th major title success for Pep Guardiola since he moved to Manchester.<\/p>\n
City came up against a stubborn Chelsea resistance, with interim Calum McFarlane lining up in a back five as Levi Colwill impressed on just his second start back from injury in front of England boss Thomas Tuchel.<\/p>\n
However, Chelsea lacked the firepower and creativity to find a breakthrough and leave a fifth consecutive Wembley final without a goal, with Cole Palmer once again struggling to make an impact.<\/p>\n
Here Sky Sports rates the players…<\/p>\n
![\"Antoine](\"https:\/\/e0.365dm.com\/26\/05\/768x432\/skysports-antoine-semenyo-fa-cup_7250686.jpg?20260516173218\")
\n <\/div>\n Semenyo turns away to celebrate after his deft flick beats Robert Sanchez
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![\"John](\"https:\/\/e0.365dm.com\/26\/05\/768x432\/skysports-fa-cup-manchester-city_7250670.jpg?20260516171957\")
\n <\/div>\n John Stones and Bernardo Silva lift the FA Cup following Man City’s 1-0 win against Chelsea
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Chelsea<\/h3>\n
Robert Sanchez – 6<\/strong><\/p>\n In a full skull cap on his return from the head injury he picked up against Nottingham Forest. Made a few decent saves when called upon, keeping out Erling Haaland, Matheus Nunes and Rayan Cherki. Could do nothing to stop the goal.<\/p>\n Malo Want – 5<\/strong><\/p>\n Service from the right not good enough. Chelsea needed more from him playing at wing-back, providing the width in Calum McFarlane’s five-at-the-back formation.<\/p>\n Wesley Fofana – 6<\/strong><\/p>\n Had a job on his hands up against Nico O’Reilly and Jeremy Doku but kept them from having too much of a say.<\/p>\n Levi Colwill – 7<\/strong><\/p>\n Chelsea’s best player. Distribution was key to progressing Chelsea up the pitch. They have missed his line-breaking passes. Second start back from ACL injury but you would not have known it. Thomas Tuchel was watching in the stands. Could he have earned an England recall?<\/p>\n Jorrel High –<\/strong><\/p>\n Had lots to do playing on the left of Chelsea’s back three, being asked to step into midfield at times. Did not do too much wrong. Chelsea were ultimately undone by a moment of brilliance. Felt he should have had a penalty but Abdukodir Khusanov was too strong.<\/p>\n Marc Cucurella – 5<\/strong><\/p>\n Replaced by Pedro Neto after 74 minutes. Had a good battle up against Antoine Semenyo down the Man City right. Caught out when Haaland drifted into the channel to set up Man City’s opener. Otherwise, solid but failed to make an impact in attack.<\/p>\n Reece James – 5<\/strong><\/p>\n Showed signs of his rust in his first start since March. Dispossessed by Jeremy Doku in the first half by his own box and fortunate that Haaland failed to capitalise.<\/p>\n Moises Caicedo – 6<\/strong><\/p>\n Had his work cut out for him in a midfield battle with Rodri and Bernardo Silva and then had Mateo Kovacic off the bench to deal with. Nearly scored only to see Rodri clear his goal-bound header from a corner.<\/p>\n Cole Palmer – 5<\/strong><\/p>\n Chelsea’s star man has had an in-and-out season and he was largely anonymous against his former side. Had a few nice touches in the first half but failed to get into the game. Spent a lot of his time tracking back. Chelsea need to help him get his spark back this summer.<\/p>\n Enzo Fernandez – 6<\/strong><\/p>\n Wonderful scissor pass for Joao Pedro in the first half after 21 mins. Deserved to get it back before team-mate slipped over when shooting. Meaty challenge on Silva earned him a booking. Fortunate his follow-through did not connect otherwise it could’ve been more. Fought until the last and lifted the ball into the roof of the net late on.<\/p>\n Jo\u00e3o Pedro – 5<\/strong><\/p>\n Wasted opportunity on the break from Fernandez’s pass over the top early in the first half, slipping before he got his shot off. He would have been better off looking to find his team-mate for the return pass. Went down too easily on numerous occasions in the penalty box. Spent too much of his time on the floor.<\/p>\n Subs<\/strong><\/p>\n Pedro Neto – 5<\/strong><\/p>\n Brought on for Cucurella after 74 minutes at wing-back. Failed to have the desired effect down the left as an attacking alternative for his team-mate.<\/p>\n Liam Delap – N\/A<\/strong><\/p>\n Brought on for James after 83 minutes.<\/p>\n Alejandro Garnacho – N\/A<\/strong><\/p>\n Brought on for Joao Pedro after 86 minutes.<\/p>\n James Trafford – 6<\/strong><\/p>\n Had little to do in the first half when Chelsea failed to register a shot. Nearly cost his team after the break by giving away a corner unnecessarily that Chelsea came close to scoring from. This was not the season he was expecting, but a domestic cup double is not bad for your domestic cup keeper. <\/strong><\/p>\n Matheus Nunes – 7<\/strong><\/p>\n Strong tackle on Cucurella in the first five minutes down the left. Chelsea’s first progression into the final third. Defended well by heading out Gusto’s cross into the box after 21 minutes. Hit the post late when City were 1-0 up.<\/p>\n Abdukodir Khusanov – 7<\/strong><\/p>\n Rescued Silva after his error gifted possession to Joao Pedro in the first half by stepping across Chelsea attacker in the box to stop him going through on goal. His speed continues to be such an asset for City. He made a few other crucial recovery runs.<\/p>\n Marc Guehi – 8<\/strong><\/p>\n Great line-breaking pass to find Haaland for a chance before half-time. Steady as ever at the back to deal with Chelsea’s counter-attacking threat. Never put a foot wrong. What a signing he has been. The England defender lifts the FA Cup for the second season running.<\/p>\n Nico O’Reilly – 7<\/strong><\/p>\n Chelsea struggled to pick him up all game and he could have ended up with a few assists. Semenyo headed over from his perfectly dinked cross shortly after the restart. Made the wrong decision on a few other occasions when crossing, but overall another solid showing. Big threat.<\/p>\n Bernardo Silva – 7<\/strong><\/p>\n Ran the midfield for City alongside Rodri and then Mateo Kovacic. Was caught out in possession by Joao Pedro in a dangerous position. His error, as it did against Palace, went unpunished. Barely put a foot wrong otherwise. City will struggle to replace him this summer.<\/p>\n Rodri – 6<\/strong><\/p>\n In the right place at the right time to clear Caicedo’s goal-bound header in the second half. Thrown straight in from the start after missing the last four games through injury and was smooth but unspectacular in holding midfield.<\/p>\n Jeremy Doku – 7<\/strong><\/p>\n Picked James’ pocket in first half and it should’ve resulted in a goal but Haaland was caught in two minds. City’s hero so many times over the last few weeks was tantalising as ever in possession. Even without scoring he plays such a crucial role.<\/p>\n Omar Marmoush – 5<\/strong><\/p>\n Hooked at half-time. It was a big call to start the forward ahead of Rayan Cherki and his first-half performance did not justify his inclusion playing up top alongside Haaland.<\/p>\n Antoine Semenyo – 8<\/strong><\/p>\n Produced a moment of utter brilliance to break the deadlock in the second half by flicking in from Haaland’s cross. Nothing Colwill nor Sanchez could do to keep him out. Made amends for his earlier missed headed chance. What a signing he has been. Match winner and player of the match.<\/strong><\/p>\n Erling Haaland – 7<\/strong><\/p>\n His cup final curse for City may continue, but the striker produced the assist for Semenyo’s winner. Drifted into the channel undetected to allow Silva to cut Chelsea open before squaring for Semenyo. Spurned a good opening early on when caught in two minds. Ten finals and no goals for City. He will not like that.<\/p>\n Subs<\/strong><\/p>\n Rayan Cherki – 7<\/strong><\/p>\n Half-time introduction and quickly brought poise and creativity in the final third, which had been sorely missed.<\/p>\n Mateo Kovacic – 6<\/strong><\/p>\n Brought on for Rodri after 65 minutes. Added an extra impetus and zip to City’s play and helped them to yet another FA Cup triumph.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" January signings Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi shone for Manchester City in a tense 1-0…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9197,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chelsea"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9196","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9196"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9196\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9197"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Erling](\"https:\/\/e0.365dm.com\/26\/05\/768x432\/skysports-fa-cup-erling-haaland_7250488.jpg?20260516155237\")
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\n Erling Haaland forces a save from Robert Sanchez
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\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n![\"Enzo](\"https:\/\/e0.365dm.com\/26\/05\/768x432\/skysports-chelsea-enzo-fernandez_7250461.jpg?20260516154338\")
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\n Enzo Fernandez was booked for this tackle on Bernardo Silva
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\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n![\"Joao](\"https:\/\/e0.365dm.com\/26\/05\/768x432\/skysports-fa-cup-chelsea-manchester-city_7250393.jpg?20260516152957\")
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\n Joao Pedro slips as he attempts a shot at the Man City goal
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\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nMan City <\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"Marc](\"https:\/\/e0.365dm.com\/26\/05\/768x432\/skysports-fa-cup-manchester-city_7250363.jpg?20260516151436\")
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\n Guehi and City kept Cole Palmer quiet at Wembley
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\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n![\"Antoine](\"https:\/\/e0.365dm.com\/26\/05\/768x432\/skysports-antoine-semenyo-fa-cup_7250589.jpg?20260516163632\")
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\n Semenyo celebrates his match-winning goal at Wembley
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\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n![\"Erling](\"https:\/\/e0.365dm.com\/26\/05\/768x432\/skysports-fa-cup-erling-haaland_7250423.jpg?20260516153451\")
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\n Erling Haaland spurns an opportunity to score in the FA Cup final
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