Liverpool missed the chance to overtake Tottenham Hotspur and reach the top four in the Premier League as Philip Billing’s goal lifted Bournemouth from the bottom of the table with a 1–0 win at the Vitality Stadium.
The Reds started brightly and created a flurry of chances early on, but they struggled to deal with the energy of Bournemouth’s front three and Jurgen Klopp’s men fell behind when Dango Ouattara’s low cross was knocked down by Billing near the half hour mark.
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The visitors, clearly stunned, struggled to muster a meaningful response. When they did, they lacked composure in front of goal as Virgil van Dijk glanced to the side before Mohamed Salah took off after Adam Smith was severely punished for handballing.
Bournemouth found themselves sinking deeper as the minutes ticked by, but the hosts held on to secure an unlikely but well-deserved victory and exit the bottom three.
Positive sides
Liverpool quickly got out from under the net and would have been ahead if not for a brilliant shot from Jefferson Lerma from the goal line. At least the Reds showed good character in a positive response after the break.
Negative
The away side always looked receptive to counter-attacks and had no response to the electric Ouattare, who pissed them off and forced the first ball when Billing converted his cross.
Manager rating out of 10
Jurgen Klopp, 6 years old. It’s hard to blame Klopp for that. Too many of his key players lacked their best qualities, and the German manager’s decision to move Gakpo to midfield improved his team’s performance considerably.
Player ratings (1-10; 10 = best, players introduced after 70 minutes are not ranked)
GK Alisson, 6 — Survived a great panic when he was surrounded by Ouattara, who could only break into the side net, although the goalkeeper was left unprotected, and he did enough to put the Bournemouth striker on target. Well beaten by Billing’s cool finish.
DF Trent Alexander-Arnold, 3 — He lacked his usual sharpness in possession and was poor defensively. Created Bournemouth’s best chance of the game when his cross-field pass attempt failed and he fired a half-field shot to please the home supporters.
DF Ibrahima Konate, 5 — The defender had a mixed day, looking unsure of his spells and struggling to contain Ouattara, whom he played in goal play. But he eased the pressure when he saved Alexander-Arnold and charged forward before fouling Lerma.
DF Virgil van Dijk, 4 — Sluggish. Desperately close to a second goal in three games when his down header was cleared out of line, but he let Ouattara get past him to open the scoring. Later I spied another huge chance from the outside.
DF Andy Robertson, 6 — He created a problem when his forward left run was stopped by a beautiful, cutting pass from Alexander-Arnold, but Nunez couldn’t convert his cross. Forced precise instinctive stop Neto with a powerful shot on goal.
Midfielder Stefan Baicetić, 4 — A quiet performance in the middle and he failed to suppress the quality of Billing which was a real nuisance as the hosts’ confidence continued to grow.
MF Harvey Elliott, 4 — He was tamped down at times in midfield by Philip Billing, who put Elliott off the ball before moving forward to win a free kick from Konate. No wonder it was filmed during the break.
MF Fabinho, 3 — There was a slight feeling of desperation for Liverpool after falling behind, and this was summed up when the Brazilian shot wide as he tried in spectacular fashion while he made a wasteful pass just after half-time.
FV Mohamed Salah, 3 — He saw that his manual early effort was easily absorbed by Neto and he found that on top of that it was difficult for him to get chances, which made his penalty blunder even more costly as the forward flared far enough when Liverpool were desperate for equalizing account.
F.V. Darwin Nunez, 5 — A near-perfect start for his side when he took the ball to Salah, but the Egyptian couldn’t get the contact he was chasing. Later, Neto again held off his half-hearted attempt.
FW Cody Gakpo, 6 — It seemed that he continued his excellent game in front of the net for 13 minutes, but he was prevented by an offside position. Moved to midfield after the break, which gave him the space he needed to score more, but he missed his last chance to equalize.
Substitutes
FW Diogo Jota, 6 — Replaced Elliott at half-time and landed almost instantly, but his curling shot was well deflected by Neto. Offered his side even earlier when Smith was thought to have landed his header, but Salah was unable to capitalize.
MF James Milner, 6 — Replaced Alexander-Arnold in the 65th minute but had few opportunities to make any noticeable impact.
MF Jordan Henderson, 6 years old — Replaced Fabinho in the 65th minute, but even the skipper couldn’t improve Liverpool’s game.
FV Roberto Firmino, 6 — Replaced Nunez in the 66th minute, but the outgoing striker never saw a goal.
MF Fabio Carvalho, N/R — A late cameo by the creative youngster who replaced Baisetic in the 88th minute.
Source: www.espn.com
