Liverpool continue title charge despite Salah’s absence،
BOURNEMOUTH – Liverpool's comprehensive 4-0 victory at Bournemouth saw Jurgen Klopp's side send a warning to the chasing pack as they extended their lead at the top of the Premier League to five points thanks to braces from Darwin Núñez and Diogo Jota.
All the talk during this match was about Liverpool's absentees and how they would cope without Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah among others, but they pulled off that tricky journey to brilliantly put Bournemouth into shape with four goals in the second half.
Pressure? What pressure. Even with Manchester City breathing down their necks, makeshift full-backs and a star missing either on international duty or due to injury, Liverpool showed their title credentials in the manner in which they came through this tricky match .
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It was not a day on the south coast. Bournemouth were unbeaten in their last eight league matches, with one of the league's most prolific strikers, Dominic Solanke, scoring six goals in six. Yet Liverpool limited the hosts to just one clear-cut chance and bypassed Bournemouth's impressive press with a series of precise balls up the pitch and won the narrow 50-50s when it counted.
Núñez and Jota will grab the headlines, but this is a collective effort. From the brilliant way Alexis Mac Allister dictated the tempo in midfield, to the outstanding performance from debutant right back Conor Bradley and all the other teammates, this was an exercise in control. Virgil van Dijk completely shut Solanke out of the game and canceled out one of the deadliest finishers in the league.
Bournemouth threw everything at Liverpool in the first half with their high press causing a strange moment of nervousness in Liverpool, and they had the best chance of the first half with Ryan Christie unable to convert at the near post a minute before the break. Liverpool's efforts were limited to long-range shots in the first half, but at the break Klopp moved Núñez to the left wing, played Jota in the middle (as they did in the match in FA Cup at Arsenal) and from there they dominated the match.
Núñez's physique has caused all sorts of problems at Bournemouth. He has been a confusing player to watch at times, someone who misses chances he should take and then scores the occasional wonder goal he has no right to score. After a first-half failure, the Bournemouth fans serenaded him with a version of “you're just an asshole Andy Carroll”, but Núñez was carefree, unfazed and when he got his first real second-hand sniff, he converted it. It was a brilliant goal in the 49th minute.
Joe Gomez's looping cross kick found Curtis Jones and with the Bournemouth defense disoriented his pass found Jota in space who put Núñez in and his first-time finish capped off a wonderful move. He scored his second in the final minutes of the match, three minutes into added time, converting an outstanding cross from Gomez at the far post to take Liverpool fourth. Núñez's double sandwiched Jota's corset. He took both brilliantly, firing the first at Neto's near post after 70 minutes and the second into the far corner after 79 minutes. With that, Bournemouth's hopes were extinguished.
There were question marks over Liverpool's arrival as to how they were going to fare – the list of absentees was such that Cody Gakpo, 24, was the oldest outfield player on the bench from Liverpool. But the versatility and adaptability of the team allowed them to come through brilliantly. Gomez at left-back had a difficult opening few minutes against Marcus Tavernier but readjusted and dominated from there, while Bradley was superb on the opposite flank having featured sporadically for Liverpool in the cups this season but not yet in the elite. The constant movement and positional changes of the front three must be a nightmare to play against, while Harvey Elliott's puppy energy complements the calmness of Jones and Mac Allister in midfield.
The good news for Liverpool fans is that Alexander-Arnold should be back by the end of the month, Robertson will return to full training soon and Dominik Szoboszlai's hamstring injury is progressing well. But in the meantime, those on the ground are keeping the ship on course. The win was the first challenge in what could be a key fortnight for Liverpool with their Carabao Cup semi-final second leg at Fulham on Wednesday, their FA Cup fourth round tie against Norwich City on Sunday and then matches against Chelsea at Anfield and Arsenal. in the Emirates.
Their team will be stretched and Klopp will have to manage it carefully. But even without their superstars away, when it counted, they showed composure and got the job done with goals from Núñez and Jota, an exercise in composure in the face of immense pressure. As the final whistle blew, the away fans chanted “Liverpool, top of the league” and those with their eyes on the title will have noticed this performance.
