Semenyo Reflects on Man City’s Champions League Setback Against Real Madrid

Antoine Semenyo has acknowledged that Manchester City F.C. fell short of their usual standards during their UEFA Champions League clash with Real Madrid C.F..

The Premier League champions were beaten 3-0 at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in the first leg of their Round of 16 tie on Tuesday night. The Spanish giants secured the commanding victory thanks to a hat-trick from Federico Valverde.

For Semenyo, the match marked a personal milestone as he made his Champions League debut following his move from AFC Bournemouth to Manchester City during the January transfer window.

Despite the significance of the occasion, the Ghana international admitted the team’s overall performance was below expectations and believes they must improve ahead of the return leg.

“Overall, we know we didn’t play well. We want to go into Tuesday and change that, so we have to wait till then,” he said after the match.

Semenyo also pointed to Madrid’s effectiveness in exploiting spaces during transitions, which proved decisive throughout the contest.

“They are very good in transition, and there were a couple of spaces in the middle of the park, and they exploited that.”

Despite the disappointing result, the forward remains optimistic that the English side can produce a stronger display when the teams meet again.

“We will just go back to the drawing board and make sure we are up for it. We had our spots where we attacked really well, so hopefully in the home league we can take our chances.”

Manchester City will now turn their focus to the second leg at the Etihad Stadium next week, where they must overturn a three-goal deficit to keep their Champions League hopes alive.