Erling Haaland hailed his new teammate Antoine Semenyo as “outstanding” after the pair inspired Manchester City to a 4-0 demolition of Liverpool in their FA Cup quarter-final on Saturday.
The Norwegian striker netted a clinical hat-trick—his 12th since joining the club in 2022—but was quick to deflect praise toward Semenyo, who provided a pinpoint assist for Haaland’s second goal before scoring a delightful dink of his own to start the second half.
The victory secures Manchester City’s place in a record eighth successive FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.
“I will tell him to keep doing that a lot now because it worked out well,” Haaland said of the service he received from the Ghanaian international.
“We work in training. Antoine is new, so it takes a bit of time with new players and all of this. Antoine is outstanding.”
The synergy between the two forwards was the highlight of a dominant afternoon for City. In the closing moments of the first half, a brilliant piece of footwork from Rayan Cherki allowed Semenyo to clip a cross into the box, which Haaland powerfully headed home.
Just five minutes after the restart, the roles reversed in spirit as Semenyo broke the Liverpool line to latch onto a through ball and calmly chip the ball over the onrushing James Trafford.
Semenyo, who joined City in a £64 million move from Bournemouth in January 2026, has made an immediate impact at the Etihad.
He has already racked up eight goals and three assists in a Sky Blue shirt, quickly quieting any doubts about his integration into Pep Guardiola’s tactical system.
Semenyo has 17 goals across all competitions this season.
