Antoine Semenyo has revealed that his former Bournemouth teammates have been jokingly threatening to kick him when he returns to the Vitality Stadium with Manchester City's title ambitions on the line. The winger, who joined City for £64 million in January, scored the only goal in the FA Cup final against Chelsea on Saturday, setting up a potential treble for Pep Guardiola's side.
Mixed Reception Planned
Semenyo, who remains in close contact with his friends in Andoni Iraola's squad, said: "I still speak to them every day. They've been giving me a lot of crap, just like they're going to kick me and this and that, but it'll be good to see them all." He added that the reunion will not feel strange: "It won't be weird going back. It'll be good to see everyone again. And obviously, it's going to be a tough game."
Bournemouth's Unbeaten Run
Bournemouth are currently on the longest unbeaten run in Europe's top five leagues, having gone 16 games without defeat, and harbour ambitions of Champions League qualification. Their remarkable form since Semenyo's departure led the City star to joke that he was holding them back. "They haven't lost; I was the problem," he laughed. "I am happy they are doing so well and hopefully they get into Europe too."
FA Cup Final Heroics
Reflecting on his winning goal in the FA Cup final, Semenyo described the backheel flick as improvisation. "A lot of improvisation there. Just got a good contact on it. And yeah, it went in the net. So I'm happy," he said. The move was something he had practised in training: "A couple of times. Sometimes you've got to improvise, you try it in training and see what happens and luckily it worked today."
Semenyo has already won the Carabao Cup and FA Cup since his January move, and said: "It's been surreal. Everything's just happened so quickly. But again, when you come to the team in January, you have to adapt as quick as you can and do the best for the team."
