Antoine Semenyo (£7.8m) scored twice and provided an assist as Bournemouth came from behind to beat Fulham on Friday.
Here are our Scout Notes from a wet and windy Vitality Stadium.
SEMENYO “THE DIFFERENCE”
Antoine Semenyo delivered yet another fine performance on Friday, en route to a remarkable 18-point Fantasy haul.
The Bournemouth winger scored two late goals and provided the assist for substitute Justin Kluivert’s (£7.0m) strike, propelling him to first place in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) points standings:
Semenyo has never struggled with shot volume; however, this season, he is taking shots from much better locations and, importantly, with greater accuracy.
Indeed, his shot conversion rate has risen to 35.3%, compared to just 8.8% in 2024/25.
“I think I just slow down things in my head. In previous seasons I’ve always hit the ball too quickly and smashed it without any accuracy. In the off-season I’ve been working on being calm and collected, and placing it in the corner.” – Antoine Semenyo
“Semenyo is in a very good spot, he is improving every season. Now he is a player that is making the difference.” – Andoni Iraola on Antoine Semenyo
The performances of Semenyo, who now has six goals and three assists in seven matches, have been key to Bournemouth’s excellent start.
The Cherries are now up to second in the table, having taken 10 points from home fixtures against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Brighton and Hove Albion, Newcastle United and Fulham.
They do have some tricky away trips to come after the international break, however:
“We have difficult games after the international break, we play Palace away, Manchester City away, Aston Villa away. It doesn’t get easier but it is good to arrive with a good number of points. I hope we take a breath which the players deserve and we go again.” – Andoni Iraola
WHY SENESI WAS SUBBED OFF
Gameweek 7’s most-bought defender, Marcos Senesi (£4.9m), blanked at the Vitality Stadium, as he was substituted off after 77 minutes.
At the time of his departure, the Bournemouth centre-half had recorded only seven defensive contributions (DefCons), three below the required number for extra points.
But what was the reason for his substitution?
With Bournemouth trailing 1-0, Andoni Iraola shuffled his pack and opted for a more offensive strategy by replacing Senesi with winger Ben Gannon-Doak (£4.9m).
Just seven minutes later, the Cherries found themselves 2-1 up.
“When you are losing, you have to try to change the game. We had to take risks and put on more offensive players and it worked.” – Andoni Iraola
Elsewhere, £4.0m defender James Hill was recalled to Iraola’s starting XI in place of Alex Jimenez (£4.5m). Subbed on the hour mark, he even banked four clean sheet points.
KING ‘OOP’
You have to feel for Fulham, who were undone by two exceptional goals from Semenyo and Kluivert.
In a match that seemed destined to be easily forgotten, Ryan Sessegnon (£5.4m) had previously put the Cottagers ahead when he ran onto a through ball from substitute Samuel Chukwueze (£5.4m) to score.
However, Fulham had to play without a recognised striker on the south coast, prompting Marco Silva to deploy a 3-4-2-1 formation, with Josh King (£4.5m) playing as a false nine within a fluid front three:
King once again looked comfortable on the ball until he was substituted on 66 minutes, yet the system seemed to be a work in progress.
On the lack of a recognised striker in his line-up, Marco Silva said:
“It’s a completely different scenario for us and it is not ideal at all. The team that we have been building the last three or four seasons with a certain way to play, the number nine has certain types of characteristics. To be without both [Jimenez and Muniz] has never happened before. We try to take the reference from the central defenders and play with a more versatile front line, a more mobile front line.” – Marco Silva
As for Joachim Andersen (£4.5m), he banked DefCon points for the sixth match in a row.
Sasa Lukic (£5.0m), meanwhile, had to be subbed off in the first half due to a suspected muscle injury.
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