Advertisement

Semenyo double ensures strong finish for Bournemouth

football25 May 2025 17:38| © Reuters
Share

Bournemouth secured ninth place in the Premier League, matching their previous best campaign, as Antoine Semenyo grabbed a double for a 2-0 home win over already relegated Leicester City on Sunday.

But Andoni Iraola's side fell short of a place in European club competition having seen their chances slip in recent weeks.

The win on the last day of the season was only a third victory in their last 13 league games but helped them to match their ninth-place finish in 2017.

Semenyo finished from close range after a short corner in the 74th minute was headed into a busy box by Illia Zabarnyi.

He followed that up with the second two minutes from time with a drive from outside the penalty area.

It was as much as Bournemouth deserved as they dominated proceedings but found opposing goalkeeper Jakub Stolarczyk in sharp form.

Leicester had already been relegated back down to the Championship last month but were looking to depart on a four-match unbeaten run.

But they created few chances and battled on the back foot with Semenyo’s goals ensuring they finished the campaign without a clean sheet on the road.

There were chances early for home attackers Evanilson and David Brooks in the first 15 minutes and Brooks had two more opportunities before halftime but was thwarted by Stolarczyk.

Leicester had the ball in the Bournemouth net in the 28th minute but were offside in the build-up and had to rely on breakaway opportunities after halftime.

Stolarczyk made another excellent diving save in the 50th minute to deny a left-footed shot from Marcus Tavernier.

Semenyo’s opener came after sustained pressure and it continued to the end with substitute Dean Huijsen setting up the second goal with a darting run along the edge of the area.

The 20-year-old Spain international made a cameo appearance as a late substitute before his move to Real Madrid.

Leicester finished third from bottom on 25 points, 13 points adrift of Tottenham Hotspur in 17th place.

Advertisement