Semenyo Admits Manchester City Fell Short in Champions League Defeat
Antoine Semenyo has admitted that Manchester City were far from their best during their UEFA Champions League clash against Real Madrid.
The Premier League side suffered a heavy 3–0 defeat at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium on Tuesday night in the first leg of their Round of 16 encounter. Federico Valverde scored all three goals to hand the Spanish giants a commanding advantage heading into the return leg.
Semenyo, who recently joined City from AFC Bournemouth in January, was making his debut appearance in Europe’s elite club competition.
Speaking after the match, the Ghanaian forward acknowledged that his team failed to perform at the expected level but remains hopeful they can improve in the second leg.
“Overall, we know we didn’t play well. We want to go into Tuesday and change that, so we have to wait until then,” he said.
The forward also highlighted Real Madrid’s strength in transition, noting that City struggled to contain the Spanish side in key areas of the pitch.
“They are very good in transition, and there were spaces in the middle of the park which they exploited,” he added.
Despite the disappointing result, Semenyo believes City showed glimpses of attacking quality and must build on those moments in the return fixture.
“We will go back to the drawing board and make sure we are ready. We had moments where we attacked well, so hopefully we can take our chances next time,” he stated.
Manchester City will attempt to overturn the three-goal deficit when the two sides meet again at the Etihad Stadium next week for the decisive second leg.
