Guardiola lauds “cheap” Semenyo signing after brilliant backheel seals FA Cup win | OneFootball

How much money must a football club spend on a player before it stops being “cheap”?

Antoine Semenyo’s switch to Manchester City from Bournemouth for £64m in January is looking like one of the best value-for-money signings in modern football, after the Ghanaian’s moment of magic beat Chelsea 1-0 in the FA Cup final.

The winger executed an ingenious backheel finish to steer Erling Haaland’s cross into the bottom left corner and send the travelling Cityzens into a frenzy, at a time where City’s dominance was beginning to fade at Wembley.

Pep Guardiola lauded his winter signing’s priceless versatility, hinting that he doesn’t consider Semenyo to be an expensive addition to his squad superstars, though one that Bernardo Silva and John Stones will depart next season.

“Antoine as a striker is really good,” he said. “Normally he has to cross to Erling [Haaland] and Erling, in that case, crossed to him, but he has a sense of goal, good finishing. It was a really good goal.

“You can spend I don’t know how much money, and if it works its cheap. You can spend less money and if it’s not working, it’s expensive – always [been] the tendancy when I’ve signed players.”

Chelsea made the brighter start to the second half and might have felt hard done by not to have breached the City defence, with several appeals for a penalty waived away by referee Darren England, as City sealed an eighth cup victory.

It was the 13th that Guardiola has won at Wembley and his third as City boss, but his previous two final appearances ending in defeat and Chelsea’s firm resistance throughout the game made it, in his eyes, all the more special.

The Spaniard added: “This trophy is really cool, really special for the tradition and after two defeats. I knew it would be a tough game, it started really good. They were better in the second half, more aggressive.”

Guardiola assured that celebrations would be kept to a minimum, though, as his team remain well in the hunt for a domestic treble and must quickly shift their attention to their visit to Semenyo’s former employers next Tuesday.

The 55-year-old said that it would be fitting to try and make “the best tribute possible” for the outgoing Silva and Stones by extending the title fight to the final day.

“Home. Not even one beer,” he said. “We won’t have time. For John and Bernardo, they are leaving in two games, hopefully we can make the best tribute possible to try and fight for the Premier League.”

Manchester City will, however, require league leaders Arsenal to drop points at least once regardless of their own activity, but maximum points out of their final two games against the Cherries and Aston Villa is imperative.

For now, City can afford to commemorate a brilliant performance in the FA Cup before using the momentum to drive them towards the domestic treble they crave – something that might not have been possible without the brilliance of Semenyo.