Ghanaian forward Antoine Semenyo has admitted that Manchester City were not at their best during their UEFA Champions League clash with Real Madrid.
The English side suffered a 3–0 defeat to Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in the first leg of their Round of 16 tie on Tuesday night. A hat-trick from Federico Valverde sealed a convincing victory for the Spanish giants.
The encounter also marked Semenyo’s debut appearance in the Champions League after completing a January transfer from AFC Bournemouth to Manchester City.
Speaking after the match, the Ghana international acknowledged that City did not perform to their expected standard but expressed confidence that the team could still recover in the return leg.
“Overall, we know we didn’t play well. We want to go into Tuesday and change that, so we have to wait till then,” Semenyo said.
He also admitted that Madrid capitalised on spaces in midfield and punished City effectively during transitions.
“They are very good in transition, and there were a couple of spaces in the middle of the park, and they exploited that.”
Despite the heavy defeat, Semenyo remains hopeful that the team can regroup and deliver a stronger performance in the second leg.
“We will go back to the drawing board and make sure we are ready. We had moments where we attacked really well, so hopefully we can take our chances in the return leg,” he added.
