Liverpool continued their excellent form away to Bournemouth with a thumping 4-0 win that extended their lead at the top of the Premier League back to five points ahead of Manchester City.
The performance had echoes of Liverpool’s New Year’s Day clash with Newcastle with a cagey affair in the first half meaning a 0-0 scoreline at the break, only for Liverpool to find the net on four occasions in the second 45 minutes to come away with the three points.
What Can Be Learned From Liverpool’s Win Over Bournemouth?
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Liverpool Cope Without Key Players
Liverpool travelled to the Vitality Stadium without numerous key players and in the first half, that looked like it was going to be a problem. Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold, two of their most creative players, feature on a list of absentees that includes Dominik Szoboszlai, Andy Robertson, Kostas Tsimikas, Joel Matip, Thiago and Wataru Endo.
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They failed to have a shot inside the box in the first half and against an in-form Bournemouth side, it looked like the absence of many key players was going to create a difficult afternoon for the league leaders.
No team has scored more goals and conceded fewer in second halves this season than Jurgen Klopp’s side though and against the Cherries, that trend continued with the likes of Joe Gomez continuing to thrive at left-back and the young Conor Bradley impressing once more at right-back in place of Liverpool’s more regular starters.
Darwin Nunez Enjoys Playing Bournemouth
The opener came from forward Darwin Nunez in the 49th minute. Not many players come in for criticism more than the Uruguayan, largely due to his erratic finishing, but he showed the composure of an elite forward in this game, especially for his first strike where he opened up his body and passed the ball into the net beyond Neto. It’s not Nunez’s first goal against this opposition this season. He scored the winner when the team won in the League Cup back in November with what looked like a special strike but which also might have been assisted by the poor weather conditions.
The poor weather was a similar feature of this game as well however there was no assistance to his two strikes this time and Nunez’s second was the type of situation he has found himself in regularly without scoring, sliding in perfectly to meet a cross and this time, finishing in the bottom corner to score the fourth and put the seal on the win.
Diogo Jota Essential For Liverpool
Like Nunez, Diogo Jota also found the net twice against Bournemouth, further highlighting his importance to the side, especially in the absence of the aforementioned Salah. Since returning from injury against Burnley on Boxing Day, Jota has registered either a goal or an assist in four of the five games he has played.
As well as his two strikes, Liverpool’s Number 20 also provided the assist for the opener to get the ball rolling for the Merseyside Club.
Alexis Mac Allister Works as a Number 6
When Alexis Mac Allister joined Liverpool, most expected him to play as a Number 8 with a more defensive-minded midfielder to sit in behind him. Mac Allister didn’t look massively comfortable in the deeper role at first as Liverpool’s new-look midfield had some teething problems and the Reds started the season conceding goals at a frequent rate. The improved performances of Endo as the Number 6 combined with Mac Allister having a short spell on the sidelines with injury meant the Argentinian didn’t feature in that role for a while but in Endo’s absence, his teammate has taken up the position once more.
Against Bournemouth the World Cup winner showed how effective he can be there, spraying passes from deep, switching play expertly and breaking the lines when there didn’t appear to be space to do so. His defensive performance was also highly impressive in breaking up Bournemouth attacks. According to FotMob, only Ibrahima Konate (another standout performer in the game) had more touches and played more passes than MacAllister, he created the most chances, no Liverpool player attempted more tackles than him and no one made more interceptions in the game. It was arguably the former Brighton man’s best display in that position since his arrival at the club.
Overall, it was a commanding display from Klopp’s men, especially in the second half which has been a common theme of their season. Liverpool would have expected to beat Bournemouth but considering the form the Cherries are in, the weather conditions and the absentees, perhaps not by such a comfortable margin.
