For the best part of 95 minutes, Antoine Semenyo was almost entirely anonymous. He can do that sometimes; drift in and out of games. When you possess the type of artistry Semenyo does, you can afford such periods of quiet absence.<\/p>\n
Then came the type of moment that has convinced Manchester City to shell out \u00a365m for his services; the gamechanging ability that can win games and, perhaps, titles for Pep Guardiola\u2019s side.<\/p>\n
When it became clear that City was Semenyo\u2019s most likely destination of choice this month, Bournemouth<\/a> were adamant their star player would remain on the south coast to face Tottenham before his anticipated departure. With his injury-time winner from the edge of the box, Semenyo showed precisely why. His wonderful strike ended a barren run of 11 winless games for Bournemouth and heaped further misery on a Tottenham side battling myriad problems.<\/p>\n It was some way to round off a 26th birthday that also included a standing ovation from all corners of the Vitality Stadium and a farewell lap of his home for the past three years.<\/p>\n As he meandered round the pitch after the match, a number of Spurs players remonstrated with some of their beleaguered away fans. The doubts over Thomas Frank grow ever more severe with each game his side fails to win. And there have been plenty of them \u2013 10 of their past 12 in the league. To think, Tottenham even had designs on seeing if Semenyo fancied joining them this month.<\/p>\n \u201cHe deserved this moment. A moment he will never forget,\u201d said Andoni Iraola, who confirmed Semenyo would now be completing the \u201cformalities\u201d of his move to Manchester City. \u201cIt\u2019s not easy to do what he has done. A lot of players would have acted differently. He has never found excuses. He was ready to give whatever we needed. Sometimes football gives you these things.\u201d<\/p>\n Eli Kroupi (right) is congratulated by Marcos Senesi after making it 2-1 to Bournemouth. Photograph: Hongbo Chen\/Action Plus\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n Having fallen behind when Mathys Tel scored a fine goal after five minutes, the hosts led at half-time courtesy of Evanilson and Eli Junior Kroupi, whose season tally of seven goals makes him the joint-most prolific teenager \u2013 alongside Lamine Yamal \u2013 across Europe\u2019s top five leagues.<\/p>\n