When it comes to two-legged Carabao Cup semifinals, the margins can be extremely thin as two English clubs battle for a place in the final at Wembley.
Therefore, while Man City will surely be happy with their first-leg lead having defeated Newcastle 2-0 at St. James' Park, they will be cursing their luck that it wasn't an even larger advantage.
Shortly past the hour mark, it seemed that Antoine Semenyo had not only doubled his own tally but doubled Man City's lead as well, but a lengthy review decided otherwise.
AllSportsPeople explains why City walked away with just the two-goal advantage instead of a larger haul for not only Semenyo himself but Pep Guardiola's side as a whole.
MORE: A rundown of Man City team news and injury updates ahead of their next match
Antoine Semenyo goal for Man City disallowed vs. Newcastle
In the 67th minute, Antoine Semenyo scored Man City's second goal, a critical moment in the first leg of this two-legged matchup.
A 3-0 lead heading home to the Etihad would have felt considerably more comfortable than the two-goal advantage the now hold, but City were ultimately not afforded that luxury.
A lengthy forensic analysis of the play ensued on the VAR screen, and after nearly a six-minute review, Stuart Attwell in the booth recommended a pitchside review for head referee Chris Kavanagh. The man with the whistle didn't need long to concur, as he made the ultimate decision to nullify the goal.
VIDEO: Watch Semenyo disallowed goal in UK
Antoine Semenyo thought he had scored his second goal of the game, but it was ruled out after Erling Haaland was deemed to be in an offside position.
— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) January 13, 2026
It took over five and a half minutes to make the decision. Pic.twitter.com/8OXTbzCz41
Why was Semenyo goal disallowed?
After an excruciatingly long review, VAR official Stuart Attwell determined that Erling Haaland was interfering with play while standing in an offside position.
Haaland was standing just in front of the goal line, battling for position with Yoane Wissa in a physical tussle that saw both players grab hold of each other while neither made a real attempt to affect the play.
The VAR review took ages because they first needed to determine whether Haaland was indeed offside. The images showed an exceedingly tight decision, and while it appeared inconclusive to the naked eye, it was ultimately determined that Haaland was in fact offside by a hair.
Then, the officials needed to decide whether Haaland was interfering with play. Semenyo's shot skated just past the back of Haaland's knee, but Wissa made no attempt to actually block the shot as he was concentrating on his battle with the Norwegian. In fact, if anyone was initiating contact it was Wissa, who appeared to be bear-hugging the City striker.
Yet ultimately, the decision was made to recommend a review for Kavanagh, who needed very little time to decide he agreed with Attwell's call. Thus, the goal was disallowed.
The decision was almost universally despised by fans and journalists on social media. A number of elements of this decision, from the length of time to the hairpin offside to the questionable interference, was a point of complaint for many viewers who were left frustrated by the VAR decision.