Antoine Semenyo celebrates after assisting Manchester City in Seoul
The Ghana winger set up both goals in a 3-1 comeback win over Atletico Madrid in Seoul, taking his tally to four assists in three pre-season games under new manager Enzo Maresca.
Antoine Semenyo capped Manchester City's pre-season tour of Asia in style on Sunday, setting up two second-half goals for Omar Marmoush as City came from behind to beat Atletico Madrid 3-1 in Seoul.
It capped a trip that has doubled as City's introduction to life under Maresca, who replaced Pep Guardiola in the summer after a ten-year reign that brought six Premier League titles and a Champions League. Three games in, Semenyo already looks like one of the new manager's most reliable outlets.
Four assists, three games
City fell behind when 16-year-old defender Jorge Dominguez scored from a corner late in the first half, sending Maresca's side in at the break 1-0 down. Semenyo put it right within three minutes of the restart: first sliding in to keep the ball alive and driving into the box to set up Marmoush in the 57th minute, then meeting a long Josko Gvardiol diagonal and squaring for Marmoush's tap-in two minutes later. Rayan Ait-Nouri added a third in added time.
Semenyo played 63 minutes, completed 13 of his 16 passes and won six duels. It continued a pattern. He was also the standout performer against Inter Milan on August 1, setting up Divin Mubama's opener in a 1-1 draw City went on to lose on penalties. Four days later, in a 3-1 win over a K League All-Stars XI in Seoul, he teed up Tijjani Reijnders with a backheeled assist before being withdrawn at halftime along with most of the team.
Four assists from three games, none of them lasting more than 68 minutes, is a striking return for a pre-season tour.
Fast start since a big-money move
Semenyo joined City from Bournemouth in January for a fee reported at £64 million and wasted little time repaying it. He scored the winning goal in City's FA Cup final victory over Chelsea in May, part of a debut half-season that also delivered the EFL Cup, both trophies won before Guardiola's exit.
The early signs under Maresca suggest he will be leaned on even more this season. City's new setup is built around getting wingers Semenyo and Savinho running at defenders in space, and both have taken to it on this tour.
What's next
City's Asia tour is over, and the focus shifts to Cardiff, not Wembley this year, where they face Premier League champions Arsenal in the FA Community Shield on August 16. The traditional curtain raiser has moved venue because Wembley is hosting a run of concerts. A week later, on August 23, Maresca's side open the Premier League season at home to Bournemouth, giving Semenyo an immediate reunion with the club that developed him into one of the league's most sought after wide players.