Ghana international Antoine Semenyo marked his UEFA Champions League debut on Wednesday night when he featured for Manchester City in their Round of 16 first-leg tie against Real Madrid.
The Black Stars forward was named in the starting lineup and lasted for 70 minutes at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu before being replaced by Rayan Cherki.
Despite his involvement, Manchester City struggled to contain a dominant Real Madrid side that produced a commanding performance.
Real Madrid took control of the game early on. In the 20th minute, Thibaut Courtois started a move with a pass to Federico Valverde, who found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper. The midfielder calmly outwitted the keeper with a clever dummy before firing the ball into the net.
Seven minutes later, Valverde doubled the advantage for the hosts. The Uruguayan midfielder latched onto a pass inside the penalty area and equalised again to give Real Madrid a comfortable lead.
The home side continued their dominance and extended the scoreline in the 42nd minute. Brahim Diaz set up Federico Valverde inside the box, and the midfielder finished from close range to complete his hat trick and make it 3-0 before the break.
Real Madrid had an opportunity to add another goal in the 58th minute when Vinicius Junior stepped up to take a penalty. However, goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma produced a brilliant save, diving to his right to deny the Brazilian forward.
Although Semenyo could not help Manchester City avoid defeat, the appearance marked an important milestone in his career as he made his first outing in Europe’s elite club competition.
The defeat means Semenyo and his Manchester City teammates have a mountain to climb in the second leg.
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