Antoine Semenyo’s second goal against Liverpool in the opening game of the 2025-26 season was one of the longest runs with the ball before scoring ever recorded in the Premier League.
Despite eventually losing 4-2 to reigning champions Liverpool in the opening game of the 2025-26 Premier League season on Friday, Bournemouth once again showed their quality going forward.
Antoine Semenyo had already struck once 12 minutes earlier when he doubled his tally with a lung-busting carry from inside his own half, driving to the edge of the Liverpool area before drilling past Alisson.
The Cherries have proved to be one of the best attacking teams in transition since Andoni Iraola took over in the summer of 2024.
Since the start of last season, only three Premier League clubs have attempted more shots from fast breaks than Bournemouth (50), while only three sides have scored more goals than they have (8) from these attempts.
Semenyo’s strike – his second of the game to make it 2-2 in the 76th minute – was the latest example of their danger on the counter-attack, and how quickly they can turn defence into attack.
It took just seven seconds from the moment Semenyo collected the ball inside his own half to the point his shot found the back of the Liverpool net.
Antoine Semenyo Goal vs Liverpool
Perhaps unsurprisingly, it was one of the longest ball carries leading to a goal in the Premier League in recent years.
From his first touch to the moment he pulled the trigger, Semenyo travelled 52.4 metres. Since the start of 2021-22, only two goals have come after longer ball carries – both scored by Nottingham Forest players against Manchester United.
Last season, Anthony Elanga carried the ball 54.1m before scoring the only goal of the game in a 1-0 win over Man Utd in April. That was just short of the distance covered by Taiwo Awoniyi with the ball at his feet before scoring at Old Trafford in Forest’s 3-2 defeat to United in August 2023.
Semenyo’s strike also enters the Premier League’s top 10 for goal-ending carries (since 2015-16), placing 10th and pushing Jesse Lingard’s 51.6-metre run for West Ham against Wolves in April 2021 down to 11th.
The Longest Goal-Ending Carries in the Premier League (*since 2025-16)
Andros Townsend – 78.9m, Crystal Palace vs West Brom, March 2017
Gastón Ramírez – 74m, Middlesbrough vs Bournemouth, October 2016
Son Heung-min – 72.3m, Tottenham vs Burnley, December 2019
Sofiane Boufal – 62.2m, Southampton vs West Brom, October 2017
Gabriel Martinelli – 61.6m, Arsenal vs Chelsea, January 2020
Phil Foden – 55m, Manchester City vs Brighton, May 2021
Eden Hazard – 54.8m, Chelsea vs Arsenal, February 2017
Taiwo Awoniyi – 54.7m, Nottingham Forest vs Manchester United, August 2023
Anthony Elanga – 54.1m, Nottingham Forest vs Manchester United, April 2025
Antoine Semenyo – 52.4m, Bournemouth vs Liverpool, August 2025
The Bournemouth forward picked up Hamed Traoré’s pass after letting the ball run in front of him – had he touched it earlier, Semenyo would most likely have found himself even higher in the top 10.
After all, his run did of course begin before getting that first touch on the ball, but a “carry” is only measured from the moment a player brings the ball under control.
Semenyo Goal vs Liverpool 1
Semenyo Goal vs Liverpool 2
Semenyo Goal vs Liverpool 3
After bamboozling Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konaté with the help of some clever, unselfish off-the-ball runs from Evanilson, Marcus Tavernier and Adrien Truffert, Semenyo finished his run with an excellent low strike into the bottom corner.
With his second goal of the game, Semenyo became the first visiting player to score a brace at Anfield in the Premier League since September 2022 (Leandro Trossard’s hat-trick for Brighton).
It shouldn’t have come as much of a surprise to see Semenyo back himself to go it alone rather than slip in a teammate after such a run.
Since the start of last season, only Cole Palmer (45) has attempted more shots than the Ghanaian forward following a ball carry (41), while his four goals from such situations place him behind only six players in the competition.
Semenyo Carries Leading to Shots in Premier League
Friday night served as further proof that Semenyo will continue to be just as threatening from those situations in 2025-26.
Premier League Stats Opta
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