Manchester City edged an instantly forgettable FA Cup final on Saturday, thanks to a moment of magic from Antoine Semenyo (£8.1m).
The winger’s backheeled winner was out of keeping with the rest of a tight, turgid game, in which neither side created many chances.
As ever, we’ll reflect on the game from a Fantasy Premier League (FPL) perspective in these Scout Notes.
BIG GUNS RETURN
Above image from BBC Sport
After some tinkering in midweek, and ignoring the ‘cup goalkeeper’ between the sticks, Pep Guardiola went back to what most of us would see as his first-choice XI – with maybe one exception that we’ll discuss in a moment.
Phil Foden (£8.0m), after all his heroics against Crystal Palace, failed to even get off the bench.
Even Guardiola suggested after the game that this XI was, largely, his go-to group.
“It took time to click something. I missed something during the process. We made a lot of different shapes and pressing, this player with the other player. We had the feeling that in the last two months, I felt some stability with the team that I didn’t find maybe in the past. But it’s normal because a lot of new players, injured players, and sometimes you need a little bit more time.” – Pep Guardiola on his side’s recent good form
CHERKI BENCHED – BUT ENCOURAGINGLY ON AT HALF-TIME
Where does this leave Rayan Cherki (£6.6m), though?
He was benched for the second successive match, and this time, a ‘breather’ couldn’t be used as an excuse.
Omar Marmoush (£8.3m) instead joined Erling Haaland (£14.7m) in a two-pronged strike force.
But, some encouragement.
Marmoush had a poor first half (not that he was alone), a tentative flick at goal from close range being his only effort. He was hooked at the break.
On came Cherki. The Frenchman was a modest improvement on what went before, without setting the world alight. He stung the palms of Robert Sanchez (£4.8m) late on and made more final-third passes than anyone in the game, despite his limited minutes, although there wasn’t one ‘chance created’ and there were times when he held onto the ball too long.
Guardiola didn’t sound overly enthusiastic after full-time.
“We thought that Caicedo jumps a lot to Rodri, the space was behind. We tried to find in that position, Cherki, and after the jump, with his ability to try to contact in behind with Erling or Antoine, but sometimes, the tactical board is perfect, but we didn’t find it.” – Pep Guardiola on his half-time change
All eyes on Tuesday’s teamsheet.
“Home. Not even one beer. Next Monday, after Aston Villa, we’re going to celebrate it with the women’s team.” – Pep Guardiola
SEMENYO ON THE SCORESHEET AGAIN
Another 90 minutes for Semenyo, and another goal.
His barren run was brought to an end on Wednesday against Palace and he was on target again here, brilliantly flicking in Haaland’s low pass.
The Ghanaian winger wasn’t dazzling all game, and often wasteful, but he was the likeliest source of a goal. Five of City’s nine shots came from him, including an excellent headed opportunity from Nico O’Reilly‘s (£5.3m) cross.
Haaland, by contrast, only had the one effort, repelled by Sanchez at his near post.
Guardiola admitted after full-time that he hadn’t expected to see Chelsea roll out a five-man defence, and the Blues’ tactical set-up certainly suffocated the Cityzens for large periods.
GVARDIOL, AIT-NOURI AND OTHERS NOT IN SQUAD – BUT NO INJURIES
Josko Gvardiol (£5.8m), Rayan Ait-Nouri (£5.7m) and a few others were absent from the City squad on Saturday.
No injuries this time, however, just a bloated, fully fit squad that couldn’t be accommodated by 20 matchday spots.
“I cannot overcome that feeling, that it’s difficult to swallow the fact that many incredible players cannot play. So, I leave six players in the tribune today, players who played the last game, who could not play today.” – Pep Guardiola
CHELSEA SOLID AS ALONSO COMES ABOARD
Above image from BBC Sport
Calum McFarlane sent his troops out in a wing-back system, with Marc Cucurella (£6.1m) no longer the winger of Gameweek 36.
Levi Colwill (£4.7m) again impressed at the back as the Blues limited City to precious few openings.
Not that Chelsea themselves carved out much. There were a few penalty shouts, but their only shot on target didn’t even result in a save, with Moises Caicedo‘s (£5.7m) tame, looping header nodded away from the goalline by the fit-again Rodri (£6.3m).
Enzo Fernandez (£6.4m) has looked a threat under McFarlane and it was he who again probably had Chelsea’s best chance, poking a close-range chance onto the roof of the net.
It’s tempting to say Cole Palmer (£10.3m) was anonymous again, but he did at least contribute to the collective defensive effort.
“It’s hard at this moment in time to think like that because of the recent form and losing a cup final but I felt we went toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the world and I thought there was very little between the sides.” – Calum McFarlane
A new era dawns for Chelsea, however, with the appointment of Xabi Alonso. He’ll take over in July, and there’ll no doubt be renewed FPL interest in Blues picks come 2026/27.
PEDRO INJURY?
It was unusual to see Joao Pedro (£7.4m) come off late on with Chelsea needing an equaliser.
Was a thigh tweak sustained earlier in the game to blame?
Garnacho on for JP. https://t.co/ohcIYOMCN4
— Nizaar Kinsella (@NizaarKinsella) May 16, 2026
Some footage from later in the game (thanks to FPL Focal!) did make it seem more like cramp.
We’ll hopefully hear from McFarlane on that issue ahead of Tuesday’s clash with Tottenham Hotspur.
