Wayne Rooney believes Chelsea star Enzo Fernandez ‘should have done better’ with his golden opportunity against Manchester City in the FA Cup final.
City sealed their second trophy of the season with Antoine Semenyo’s brilliant finish midway through the second-half settling the game at Wembley.
Chelsea more than held their own in a tight contest however and had their best chance of the game just moments after City’s opener.
Deployed in a more advanced midfield role, Fernandez was picked out in the box, latching onto the ball under pressure from Marc Guehi but the Argentina international lifted his effort over the bar.
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The moment largely typified Chelsea’s day, unable to convert their chances and ultimately paying the price.
Dissecting the incident post-match, Manchester United and England legend Rooney praised Guehi’s defending but felt the Chelsea midfielder should have equalised.
‘Guehi just does enough there for me, he presses him and puts him off,’ Rooney told BBC Sport. ‘I think Enzo should do better but Guehi does really well.’
Former City and Chelsea striker Daniel Sturridge added: ‘There wasn’t many great chances.
‘It fell on his weaker foot, it is a difficult finish to be fair and he’s got the right purchase on it but the direction and the height is all wrong.’
While Fernandez was unable to find the finish, Semenyo’s was perfect.
Meeting Erling Haaland’s cross, the former Bournemouth star produced an instinctive flick to beat Robert Sanchez and find the bottom corner.
‘It has happened a couple of times in training – it happened perfectly today,’ Semenyo said.
‘Everything happened so fast to be honest. It came straight to me and I had to improvise myself as quickly as I can.
‘I have never competed for trophies like this before, so everything is new to me. Hopefully, we can finish the job off.
‘It is a good finish, I can’t lie. As a kid I have always wanted to be playing for the top teams – it took a long time to get there, but I am grateful.’