Semenyo finds the right riff but won't tune in to chart-toppers Arsenal
Antoine Semenyo of Manchester City celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the Premier League match between Leeds United and Manchester City at Elland Road on February 28, 2026 in Leeds, England. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
BILL Shankly once suggested that if Everton were playing at the bottom of his garden, he'd draw the curtains.
Antoine Semenyo wasn't quite so dismissive of Arsenal, but it's safe to say Manchester City's man of the moment wasn't glued to the Premier League leaders' game on Sunday.
The two remaining title contenders meet in Manchester in April after contesting the League Cup final later this month. Asked if he planned to watch the Gunners' London derby against Chelsea after his winning goal cut the advantage at the top to two points, the ÂŁ65m striker said: "I'll try to wind down, try to not watch anything and just relax. We'll see what happens."
Semenyo ably filled an Erling Haaland-shaped void in City's starting line-up with his sixth goal in 11 appearances since joining from Bournemouth in January.
After being told by his mum to cut out any more back-flip goal celebrations, the 26-year-old's questionable shadow guitar-strumming alternative might have been his only bum note after second-place City weathered an early storm to seal an eighth victory in nine.
"The win means everything," Semenyo insisted. "We just want to win our games and whatever Arsenal do after that, we have to wait and see. Leeds made it tough and I think you saw that at the end when some of the boys went down on the turf with the amount of effort we had put in."
Semenyo stole in between Leeds' centre-backs to slide home the winner in first-half stoppage-time from a Rayan Ait-Nouri cross to punish the hosts' failure to convert any of the plethora of chances created in a dominant first half hour.
With Haaland sidelined after picking up a minor knock in training two days before the game, his understudy admitted it was a daunting prospect standing in for arguably the world's most fearsome forward.
"If the big man isn't there you have to fill his boots," he added. "I just tried to do the best I can and get myself a goal. It's always going to be a big pressure when you're replacing Erland in the team.
"A few friends said I should do something funny if I scored so that was the first thing that came into my head. A nice guitar, a good performance and the crowd loved it."
Pep Guardiola admitted he doesn't know if Haaland will be available to go in search of a 30th goal of the season when Nottingham Forest visit the Etihad on Wednesday as the Spaniard attempted to deflect attention away from what, with the recent demise of Aston Villa, has become a two-horse title race.
The Manchester City boss said: "The strength in depth of the Premier League is better than ever this season. You only have to look at Wolves beating Aston Villa on Friday so we're happy to come here and win.
"Qualifying for the Champions League is the main target for the club because for the last 10 years we have been there but looking at our schedule I have to say thank you so much for letting us play in the FA Cup at 8pm at Newcastle this Saturday and then travel to Real Madrid on the Wednesday."
Leeds remain a precarious six points above the bottom three after emerging empty-handed from a game they should have had sewn up at half-time. Their normally reserved manager Daniel Farke took his frustration out on Peter Bankes after the final whistle to earn a red card after storming onto the pitch to remonstrate with the referee.
Dominic Calvert Lewin's glaring early miss set the tone for a toothless display and the forward at least had the self-awareness to recognise his part in Leeds' demise. He admitted: "Against top-quality opposition you have to take your chances.
"Obviously I had a big chance early on. I back myself to put those away so I accept responsibility for that. That's my job and I know it would have been a bit of a different game if we'd have taken our chances early on.
"It's the most ruthless league in the world but it is not all doom and gloom. We're confident in what we have in the dressing room, in the way that we're playing and the run that we've been on. We take confidence from that and we have to keep looking game-by-game.”Â
Darlow 7; Justin 7 (Piroe 87, 6), Rodon 7 (Bijol 87, 6), Struijk 6; Bogle 7 (James 76, 6), Stach 6, Ampadu 6, Gruev 6 (Gnonto 75, 6), Gudmundsson 6; Calvert-Lewin 6, Aaronson 7 (Nmecha 65, 6).
Donnarumma 7; Nunes 7, Dias 7, Guehi 7, Ait-Nouri 7; Rodri 7; Cherki 8 (Ake 87, 6), Silva 7, O'Reilly 7 (Reijnders 70, 6); Semenyo 8, Marmoush 5 (Savinho 68, 5). Booked: Donnarumma, Ait-Nouri, Savinho.
Peter Bankes
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
