At Bournemouth, where Fulham had lost their last three visits, Marco Silva’s team were tweaking the noses of Andoni Iraola, having taken the lead through Ryan Sessegnon’s well-crafted goal. Step forward Antoine Semenyo, one of the players of the season so far, his slaloming run down the byline, his drop of the shoulder confounding Bernd Leno to equalise from the narrowest of angles. Next, to snatch the three points, the Ghanaian sent Justin Kluivert away to score a gorgeous winner. Just when it seemed Fulham were set for fourth time lucky, Bournemouth instead climbed to second. Semenyo’s second, from a trademark warp-speed counter, completed a sweet home win. A soaked Silva, whipped by autumnal gusts, could only suffer on the sidelines as a chance to prove he too is one of the Premier League’s progressive forces slipped from his grasp.
Despite an elite asset-stripping of his team, Iraola’s squad looks far more robust than last season. A manager who readily picks the same team if form dictates had made four changes from the draw at Leeds. Selecting David Brooks, Marcus Tavernier, Alex Scott and James Hill allowed Ryan Christie, Amine Adli, Justin Kluivert and Alejandro Jiménez to drop to the bench. The Basque’s brand of high pressing football will cause wear and tear, and where last winter Bournemouth could barely field a team full of fit players, he was using the luxury of rotation and tactical switches while he still could.
Continue reading…At Bournemouth, where Fulham had lost their last three visits, Marco Silva’s team were tweaking the noses of Andoni Iraola, having taken the lead through Ryan Sessegnon’s well-crafted goal. Step forward Antoine Semenyo, one of the players of the season so far, his slaloming run down the byline, his drop of the shoulder confounding Bernd Leno to equalise from the narrowest of angles. Next, to snatch the three points, the Ghanaian sent Justin Kluivert away to score a gorgeous winner. Just when it seemed Fulham were set for fourth time lucky, Bournemouth instead climbed to second. Semenyo’s second, from a trademark warp-speed counter, completed a sweet home win. A soaked Silva, whipped by autumnal gusts, could only suffer on the sidelines as a chance to prove he too is one of the Premier League’s progressive forces slipped from his grasp.Despite an elite asset-stripping of his team, Iraola’s squad looks far more robust than last season. A manager who readily picks the same team if form dictates had made four changes from the draw at Leeds. Selecting David Brooks, Marcus Tavernier, Alex Scott and James Hill allowed Ryan Christie, Amine Adli, Justin Kluivert and Alejandro Jiménez to drop to the bench. The Basque’s brand of high pressing football will cause wear and tear, and where last winter Bournemouth could barely field a team full of fit players, he was using the luxury of rotation and tactical switches while he still could. Continue reading…