Bournemouth has been a bit of a graveyard this season. The big boys have rocked up to the south coast only to make the arduous trek home beaten black and blue after being slated and outplayed by Andoni Iraola’s effervescent, warrior-like workhorses.
So with that in mind, let us not underestimate the gravity of Liverpool coming down here and winning. They matched the Cherries for fighting spirit, stood tall as the home team threw everything at them – and most importantly, converted their own chances with prolific nature.
Arsenal came here and lost, champions Manchester City were played off the park and Nottingham Forest, their rivals for the surprise package of the season, were obliterated 5-0 on this turf. So this victory was one that underlined just why Liverpool are champions-elect.
Fans will not like that statement in fear of a jinx job, but look at the evidence: Mohamed Salah showed again why he is the best player in the league, boss Arne Slot proved again how he can outsmart other tactical wizards and Virgil van Dijk bullied the league’s most in-form forwards.
Salah scored in both halves to confirm the win which takes Liverpool nine points clear of second place. Over to you, Arsenal, with Mikel Arteta’s side hosting Pep Guardiola and Manchester City on Sunday. Lose that and the champagne corks could soon be popping at Anfield.
The Reds were not perfect. Not by any means. Bournemouth hit the woodwork twice and, on another day, could have salvaged what would have been a deserved point. But Salah had other ideas and took this game by the scruff of its neck – not for the first time this season.
Liverpool beat Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium to extend their lead at the top of the table
Mohamed Salah scored a brace against the Cherries to take his league tally to 21
Salah opened the scoring on the half hour mark after Lewis Cook brought down Cody Gakpo
It must also be said that some referees might not have given the first-half penalty for what looked like miniscule contact on Cody Gakpo. And if Alisson’s left-hand post was an inch thinner, the Cherries would have levelled and, who knows, may had gone on to win the game.
But these are all ‘ifs’, ‘buts’ and ‘maybes’ – which has been the case all season for Slot’s supercharged powerhouse. How will they deal if they have a bump in the road? Maybe they will slip up soon. But what if Salah slows down? Is this early-season form just a fluke?
Those have been the questions that have been used as ammunition to drive up the narratives of a title race. Liverpool have swatted each doubt away. If anything, they are only getting better and the stars seem to be aligning with a 20th English league title more in their grasp each week.
‘We needed a bit of luck to win this game,’ conceded Slot. ‘They were constantly trying to do things. I didn’t think we controlled the game. It is a good team and a good manager. I am very happy that we could keep a clean sheet and score two goals.’
Iraola, on the other hand, said: ‘Small things didn’t go for us. We gave ourselves a chance, but it hasn’t been enough. Key moments, you can score and make the difference. Against teams like Liverpool, you need to punish them whenever you have the chance.’
Liverpool began February in complete contrast to this time last year, when they were just entering an injury crisis that would eventually derail their title bid. Here, they had zero injuries with Joe Gomez and Federico Chiesa not even making the squad.
Trent Alexander-Arnold going down holding his thigh in the second half would be the only sour note for Liverpool, then, with him to be assessed in the next 48 hours and a doubt against Tottenham in the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg on Thursday.
The leaders could have been behind inside 20 seconds as Bournemouth called Alisson into action with the first attack of the game through Antoine Semenyo. The Ghana international hit the post on 20 minutes, while Justin Kluivert also saw an effort saved.
Alisson was called into early action as he denied both Antoine Semenyo and Justin Kluivert
Salah curled a beautiful shot past Kepa for 2-0 to confirm the points for Liverpool
Arne Slot’s side are now nine points clear of second-placed Arsenal after their latest victory
Iraola’s forwards have been praised to the hilt this season but Dean Huijsen and Illia Zabarnyi also deserve a mountain of credit. The defensive duo limited Liverpool to scraps all game despite the result and their first goal came against the run of play.
A searching ball from Andy Robertson saw Gakpo get the wrong side of stand-in right back Lewis Cook and fall to the floor after an alleged trip. Soft? Possibly – but the VAR must have seen some contact, and Slot made the argument that Gakpo would not dive when through on goal, such is his form.
Salah stepped up and, well, the rest goes without saying. The Egyptian confidently slotted his penalty past Kepa to bring his league tally to 20 for a fifth separate campaign. In the same breath, he levelled Frank Lampard in joint-sixth in the all-time Premier League scoring chart.
Bournemouth thought they had equalised minutes later but David Brooks’s goal was chalked off due to Milos Kerkez being offside in the build-up. The Cherries carried on pushing in the second half as Liverpool’s level dipped and Slot barked at his troops to gain control again.
Iraola thought his team had levelled when substitute Marcus Tavernier sent a long-range effort past Alisson midway through the second period only to be denied by the post. It was a zapping team move and Kluivert should have scored the rebound but shanked a shot over. Unlucky.
It felt like the pressure was starting to mount for Liverpool. It is in these moments, then, that the star men need to step up. That is what happened as Salah curled a beautiful shot past Kepa to confirm the points on 75 minutes after a dashing counter-attack led by Curtis Jones.
‘Having Mo Salah in a game like this definitely helps,’ said Slot. He is right. Without him, where would they be? Possibly not romping to the title – though knowing their manager’s knack of finding solutions for everything in his way, maybe they would be up there anyway.
