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Antoine Semenyo has hailed Rayan Cherki as “one of the world’s best” following Manchester City’s FA Cup rout of Liverpool.
Semenyo and Cherki both made key contributions as hat-trick hero Erling Haaland fired City to a 4-0 win at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
The pair combined for one of Haaland’s goals before Cherki played in Semenyo to score himself in a devastating display that put City into the last four for a record-extending eighth successive season.
“He’s one of the world’s best,” said City winger Semenyo. “He can literally do anything with the ball, so he makes my life easy.
“I know that he’s going to drop and he’s going to try and find me in behind or play to my feet, so it just makes it easier.”
Cherki’s disguised pass for Semenyo to cross for Haaland’s second goal bamboozled the Liverpool defence and underlined his creative quality.
Yet, as in the Carabao Cup final win over Arsenal, Cherki could not resist the occasional flick and trick once the game was won – a trait that has previously drawn a frosty response from Pep Guardiola.
The manager’s view this time was unclear as he served a touchline ban and handed media duties to assistant Pep Lijnders.
There was admonishment for the Frenchman from the bench though after he swapped shirts with Hugo Ekitike after being substituted late on. Cherki put the shirt on before full time and was immediately told to take it off.
Moments like that add to Cherki’s maverick reputation, but for Semenyo, it is his creativity and skill that stand out most.
“I remember my first day in training,” said Semenyo. “Just some of the skills he was pulling up, I thought, ‘What kind of player is he?’
“He’s a top player. Creative with the ball and we love it.”
City’s victory marked a strong return after the international break and highlighted their determination to finish the season strongly with a domestic treble in their sights.
Semenyo said: “I feel like there’s so much aspiration, so many goals that we want to achieve this season. There’s more to come and just have to keep going.
“It’s the most important part of the season now, so we just want to win as many games as we can.
“Every game’s the final now, so we just have to keep pushing and see what happens.”