Antoine Semenyo scored one of the great FA Cup final goals with an audacious back-flick to seal Manchester City's 1-0 victory over Chelsea at Wembley. The Ghanaian winger's moment of magic came in the 72nd minute when he improvised a sublime finish to caress Erling Haaland's cross into the net.

Semenyo's goal joins the ranks of iconic FA Cup final strikes by Ricky Villa, Michael Owen, Roberto Di Matteo, and Steven Gerrard. Ironically, the 26-year-old, signed from Bournemouth in the January window for £50 million, was born just a stone's throw from Chelsea's Stamford Bridge home in west London.

The victory gave Pep Guardiola his third FA Cup triumph and his 20th trophy in a glittering decade as City manager. Guardiola's future remains uncertain, with just one year left on his contract and no indication whether he plans to stay or leave. If this is the end of an era, Semenyo ensured Guardiola leaves with at least one more golden memory.

For Chelsea, the loss was the latest blow in a turbulent campaign. Without a win in their last seven league games, they languish in ninth place with virtually no chance of qualifying for next season's Champions League. Fans protested against owners BlueCo before kick-off, chanting "we want our Chelsea back."

The first half was cagey and flat, with City dominating possession but unable to break through Chelsea's five-man defense. Semenyo should have scored earlier, heading over from six yards. Chelsea had a penalty claim rejected just before halftime when Joao Pedro was bundled over by Abdukodir Khusanov.

City finally delivered the knockout blow when Haaland made a clever run down the right and cut the ball back to Semenyo, who deftly back-heeled his finish into the far corner. Guardiola now turns his attention to the Premier League title race, where City trail Arsenal by five points with two games remaining.

Source: www.aljazeera.com