On Wednesday, January 14, the first semifinal match of the English League Cup took place at "St. James' Park," where "Manchester City" defeated "Newcastle" with a score of 2:0. The main player of the match was Antoine Semenyo, who scored the first goal and confirmed his reputation as a player capable of deciding the outcome of key matches.
Semenyo opened the scoring in the second half, finishing off an attack with a precise shot after a pass from Bernardo Silva. Later, he had the chance to secure a double, but his second goal was disallowed after a lengthy VAR check.
In stoppage time, in the 99th minute, Ryan Cherki doubled the advantage for Pep Guardiola's team, establishing the final score.
Interestingly, this season, changes were made to the League Cup rules, allowing Semenyo to play for "Manchester City" despite his earlier participation in the tournament with another club. This innovation caused dissatisfaction for Newcastle's head coach Eddie Howe.
Pep Guardiola, the head coach of "City," praised the performance of his new player, noting his ability to score important goals. Thus, Antoine Semenyo became the first player from the club since 2009 to score in his first two matches for the team.
The return match will take place at the "Etihad" Stadium in February.
