Andoni Iraola said Antoine Semenyo’s shot is the most powerful he’s seen, before comparing it to Roberto Carlos. I have a feeling these goalkeepers would agree with that lofty comment:
📚 Contents
Note for email readers: This email is truncated. To read the full article, please click on this link or the link to the right of [Message clipped] note at the bottom of this email.
Spacial Awareness; Centrality
A staple of Bournemouth’s football involves Adrien Truffert (🇫🇷) making an overlapping run beyond Semenyo, who then sits in pockets of space, ready to receive.
Which means Semenyo essentially floats near the edge of the box, waiting to drive at the opposition. Because of this, his movement in tight spaces (translatable to facing low blocks, given the nature of City’s opponents) is very good (my apologies for blinding you with these lights/exposure):
And so is his movement when driving into central spaces:
And here is where a funny aspect of his two-footedness comes into play:
When Semenyo’s driving into [open] space, he can keep his head up and constantly scan — look for a man here, a man there — because even if the ball bobbles or he takes a heavy touch, he can use his other foot to clamp down on it and keep running anyway.
Keeping that square, while still being able to shift momentum in either direction, also opens up numerous passing lanes, making him a very effective associative/combinatory guy.
Being quick on/receptive in the half-turn doesn’t hurt either.
Why Football is Fundamentally… Twister?
Step over → strong push through with his left foot
Digs into the ground with his left foot, using it to drive through
Stretches to change direction (ankle-based; easiest to pivot around)
Strong (stiff) arm to a) separate him from his marker b) use his marker’s momentum against him
Pivoting around the ankle once again; strong leg means he’s able to withstand his entire body weight going through his knee → ankle. Center of mass well-placed and upright, meaning he doesn’t fall over (even on a wet pitch [in image])
Shifts body weight again, driving through + stabilising from the glutes
There are a couple of ways to deceive on a football pitch. Disguising your actions is one. Sharp changes of direction are the other. And Semenyo has… both.
After shooting the ball, a small jump can help take a sort of jarring pressure off the knee:
But also, strengthening your quads can protect your knee, behaving almost like shock absorbers and reducing direct stress when you’re under pressure. So stronger quads can help you move like this without the help of a contortionist.
Yeah, it must be terrible playing Twister against Semenyo.
As I alluded to before, Semenyo’s ability to twist is ultimately driven by him pivoting over his leg.
What this means is that he’s able to get his body into position much faster than any defender can jockey → turn against him, giving him space to either run into or play a pass into. Plus, it allows him to wrap (brush) his foot against the ball, giving it some curl, which is pretty useful when playing a ball across (and behind) the box.
Deceleration → Shooting In Stride
You don’t get much time or space in the Premier League. On the rare occasion that you do, it’s often because you’ve manufactured it for yourself.
This clip from Chelsea’s 2-1 loss to Sunderland comes up quite frequently as a counterpoint, but given we don’t live in a black-and-white world, there’s some nuance to it:
All but two of Chelsea’s players are incredibly high up the pitch
Two weeks’ worth of pre-season just aren’t enough, and will lead to players being unfit. The proof is in the pudding, and Chelsea sorta can’t run, especially in the 93rd minute of a Premier League game.
Brian Brobbey (🇳🇱) does well to get behind the ball, after which he uses his arm + body to shield.
Chalobah got a lot of stick for his passiveness here, but I think his think his thought process was fine. He anticipates the pass and attempts to block off passing lanes proactively.
Brobbey quickly (and cleanly) gets the ball off his foot and immediately lays it off to Talbi while Reece James is preoccupied with Geertruida.
Talbi has space to run into → shoot.
What I mean to say is that you have to work really hard to find space in top-flight football.
One way Semenyo makes the most of the little time he gets is by shooting in stride (while decelerating).
Deceleration is just as important as acceleration. Being able to shoot without needing multiple touches to set yourself (while defenders are drawn to you like a moth to a flame) is ultimately what differentiates you at this level.
Shooting off the back of a run then increases your chances of (a) getting onto passes, (b) getting a shot off, and (c) actually scoring, because you’ve been able to shoot.
It also proportionally affords the opposing goalkeeper less time to set himself and to read where you’re going, because you’re giving him no leeway.
In the clip above, Semenyo stays front-on to the keeper, barely appears to slow down, and his backlift is no higher than in his normal stride. Leno has no way of knowing when (or even with which foot) Semenyo’s going to shoot.
This isn’t just a one-off with Semenyo either. It’s a repeatable/scalable trait, originating from a near-perfect running style (high cadence → driving from the glutes):
Further factor in Semenyo’s ability to create separation (which he can do oh so easily), and you have a ridiculously good two-way threat: someone who finds himself running at goal frequently, with one helluva shot in his locker.
Erm. So how exactly do you stop a powerful athlete who’s good in 1v1s, and can shoot off either foot, from anywhere?
From a standing start → top corner in three steps. And a lot of why Semenyo’s shooting is this efficient comes down to how he aligns himself to shoot the ball.
Shooting and Finishing Zones
Semenyo places his shots well. Aiming for the corners is always a good tactic (heuristically), and being able to finish both near and far post is even better, simply because it gives your finishing that bit more variety.
Anyway, Sánchez’s positioning here isn’t great.
Semenyo clearly has no angle for a far-post shot, yet Sánchez’s entire body is leaning back toward it, meaning he’s (rather evidently) expecting a shot there.
That said, Sánchez does well to stay low to the ground (eventually crouching further and shifting his bodyweight to his right), meaning Semenyo can’t really shoot into the bottom corner (the easiest route from here).
Hence, Semenyo’s able to [powerfully] place his shot into the top left, where the chance of Sánchez actually stopping it is basically negligible.
Take this goal:
Shooting between the legs is a really good way to get a shot off, simply because, as the goalkeeper, you expect your defender to block a shot that’s straight at them. A failure to do so just means there’s another body in the keeper’s line of vision, and from there it’s hard to see how the attacker’s body is shaped, where he’s leaning, and basically any contextual clue for where he’s going to shoot.
Minimal backlift → less time to close your legs
If you’re not minimising your backlift (certain shots and crosses may need an exaggerated one to chop down on the ball), getting your foot down quickly has the same effect:
Even here, Semenyo’s able to pivot (💃) quickly around his [rather stiff] planting foot, swivelling, and releasing with a snap.
A good first touch can negate the need for a second:
Semenyo positions himself square-on, letting him run onto the ball and finish through it with his laces. Hence, he’s able to keep the ball low enough that the keeper can’t get down to it quickly enough.
Watches the ball bobble:
Finds himself awkwardly square-on, in no man’s land for a pass or a shot
Light and nimble on his toes (reactive), opening up his torso to shoot across his body
Places his shot between the legs again; Alisson struggles to judge its trajectory
All of this now brings me here. I feel like if you have the audacity to pull this off, you’re going places:
It takes until Semenyo’s foot is already IN THE AIR for Pickford to realise what’s happening, at which point:
a) he simply isn’t prepared, meaning b) his momentum/cog is split in three directions, and c) he won’t be able to generate a meaningful leap.
Managing Contact; Physicality
Semenyo’s quite hard to shake off the ball. One reason is because he can simply duck (🦆) under contact:
Which then comes down to the copious amounts of load and changes of direction his legs can bear, which is usually disproportionately more than his opponents’.
BUT he’s pretty good at physically holding his man off through contact too:
Receives well on the half-turn (something Semenyo is really good at, given his repeated willingness to drive forward with the ball)
Immediately leverages a stiff arm to create a barrier between the ball and his marker
Left arm pushes his marker back further, while his body also acts as a shield
But a lot of the momentum Semenyo creates comes from his opponent:
Given his strength and stability, Semenyo can leverage his arm to separate his marker from him and the ball, while simultaneously pushing him back and using his momentum to propel him forward.
That’s why he creates separation so frequently.
Defensive Work
So Semenyo can defend:
And he does so pretty well.
I feel like sometimes you can think Semenyo doesn’t make enough pressures, but at the same time, he understands defensive space well enough that he’s always on the move and blocking passing lanes.
The one slight issue I have with him is that his pressing is often more reactionary than proactive, meaning he’s a step behind (he presses when the ball is played to his man). But he does run hard when he has to, so I suppose all’s well that ends well.
Plus, ranking in the 78th, 84th, 97th, and 98th percentiles for tackles, clearances, aerials won, and blocks clearly shows he’s doing something (a lot) right.
Skillset → Profiling
I think we can broadly characterise Semenyo’s strengths as:
Football
True as that may be, here are the rest of them:
Two-footedness
Deceleration
Shooting in stride
Shooting from a range of positions
Controlling/trapping the ballSpatial understanding (→ positional flexibility)
Creating separation
A willingness to drive in 1v1s
Strength in dribbling
Efficiency in changing angles/directions
Outlet-ability (?)
[Effective] pressing
Blocks and clearances
Willingness to engage aerially
As for his weaknesses:
Pass completion (which really doesn’t matter)
Through balls
Volume of crosses
Volume of carries
Turnovers
Frequently picks up yellow cards which isn’t (in isolation) a bad thing
Very honestly, I don’t think you can go wrong when profiling Semenyo. I’d say his best position is on the left, with a springy LB ready to overlap when needed (not constantly, a la Truffert). But stick him on the right, left, centre, in Narnia, wherever, and he’ll put in a shift.
His skillset is quite diverse for a winger, and he clearly has an eye for goal. The fact that he creates separation so efficiently and gets shots off from wide areas also means he’s going to create a fair few rebound opportunities. And considering the bodies City like to get into the box (Haaland, Foden), I fear he’ll find a target more often than not.
Small-spaces combination play within City’s system will allow Semenyo to [easily] move the ball up the pitch without an overreliance on dribbling over long distances, allowing him to conserve his energy for short bursts.
Perhaps he could improve creatively and progressively via passing, but a decent chunk of this should happen simply by playing alongside players like Cherki and Rodri.
Either way, a flank pairing of Doku and Semenyo is honestly hilarious to think about, and I fear for fullbacks everywhere. They’ll spin you right round baby right round like a record baby right rou-
Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed . If you did, why not check out a few of my other scouting reports?
Aaaand that’s enough of the shameless promotion. Take care, and have a great week ahead!
The breakdown of how he uses ankle pivots and body weight distribution to create those sharp direction changes is really well done. That section connecting glute strength to maintaining balance through cuts explains alot about why defenders cant stay with him even when they anticipate the move. Watched him do that leg-sweep recovery thing against Liverpool and it looked effortless until you see the mechanics behind it here. The minimal backlift point for shooting betwen legs is something defenders probably hate dealing with.