Three Bournemouth players who have picked themselves vs Crystal Palace after Fulham comeback
Andoni Iraola will be incredibly proud of his Bournemouth team after a comeback at home against Fulham.
Ryan Sessegnon scored the opener for the visitors on Friday, 3 October, firing smartly under Djordje Petrovic following smart play from substitute Samuel Chukwueze.
However, Antoine Semenyo scored a brace in the closing stages at the Vitality Stadium, sandwiching an audacious effort from Justin Kluivert to move the Cherries to second in the Premier League table.
Iraola has been strongly linked with the Man United job, with Ruben Amorim under mountains of pressure at Old Trafford, and his side’s performance against the Cottagers proves exactly why.
With a two-week break before facing Crystal Palace on 18 October, here are three players who must be in the starting lineup at Selhurst Park.
Adrien Truffert
Bournemouth replaced Milos Kerkez with Adriern Truffert, and looking at the two deals now, it appears that the Cherries got a far better deal than Liverpool in the left-back department.
The Frenchman has rarely put a foot wrong since his arrival, and that continued on Friday night, with the defender even picking up an assist for the first of Semenyo’s goals.
He was creative, defensively solid, cool under pressure, and kept working like he had an engine right until the final whistle at the Vitality.
Justin Kluivert
It has been a strange start to the campaign for Kluivert, who has only started one Premier League game so far. With so much choice in attack, Iraola can hardly be blamed.
| Justin Kluivert’s cameo | Stats [FotMob] |
| Minutes played | 29 |
| Goals | 1 |
| Chances created | 1 |
| Dribble success | 100% (1/1) |
| Tackles won | 100% (2/2) |
| Ground duels won | 3 (50%) |
However, after replacing Marcus Tavernier just after the hour mark, he made an incredible impact in the final third, with many comparing his skills to those of his father.
Kluivert’s sensational strike did all the talking for him, and that alone should put him in contention to start against Palace once the Premier League resumes. Given that he has never lost to the Eagles, he could be a good luck charm.
Antoine Semenyo
The most obvious choice out of the three. Semenyo is unlikely to drop out of the lineup unless he picks up an injury at some point this season. Fans will have fingers crossed that doesn’t happen.
With two goals and an assist, the winger now has six goals and three assists in seven appearances across all competitions this season, adding to his 19 goal contributions from last term.
He was heavily linked with a move away during the summer, but with so many other high-profile exits, the Cherries were able to cling onto his signature, and what a feat that has been so far.
Semenyo was right not to blow the Cherries’ season-long aims out the window, but it is becoming clear just how talented this team is under Iraola, and how threatening they might be to the rest of the league.