Daniel’s Debrief: Liverpool 3-1 Bournemouth

You’d always take four points from the first six on offer. And you’d definitely take them in the circumstances that Liverpool have faced; an unfinished squad with an opening game away at a top six rival, followed by a home game in which they fall behind, and spend most of the second half with ten men.

The Reds had a similar start, in terms of what they were up against, last season. They started in West London with a 2-2 draw at Fulham, and followed it up with a 1-1 stalemate at home to Palace after a Wilfried Zaha opener and a Darwin Nunez red card.  

Fast forward a year, and facing pretty similar circumstances, Liverpool have got four points rather than two, put in a performance at Chelsea with more positives than negatives (unlike at Fulham), and come from behind to win at home.

Good signs.

Jurgen Klopp names an unchanged team for the fixture and I think that surprises a few. I do think that had Curtis Jones been available, he starts in the six position. It’s a shame for Jones because there’s been a few occasions in his Liverpool career where he’s been primed for gametime, only for injury to curtail that.

With the acquisition of Wataru Endo on Friday and the return of Stefan Bajcetic though, there was a bit more steel to the bench. I don’t know how possible it ever was for Endo to start, but I’d have started him given the kind of opponent Bournemouth are, and that plays out in the first 20 minutes.

Make no bones about it, Liverpool are absolute muck for the first 20-25 minutes. 

Bournemouth have a goal ruled out in the first minute when Jaidon Anthony takes advantage of a breakdown in communication between Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ibrahima Konate and Alisson Becker to slot into an empty net but mercifully, there was an offside.

That should’ve been a warning sign for Liverpool of Bournemouth’s intent to play through the thirds but if it was, it wasn’t heeded. In the third minute, Virgil Van Dijk plays a weighty pass to Alexander-Arnold, who is unable to retain possession on the half-turn under good pressure from Phillip Billing, who I thought was their best player and perhaps could be someone who Liverpool might look at.

It looks like Van Dijk and Andy Robertson have dealt with Dominic Solanke but the ball breaks to Antoine Semenyo, who rifles one into the bottom corner from 12 yards out. 

It’s hard to pinpoint any particular individual at fault here as it was a scrappy phase that led to the goal, but Van Dijk’s pass was not only too heavy, but unnecessary, with Ibrahima Konate in acres of space on the opposite side, ready to receive. It’s also worth mentioning that it’s a cracking finish from Semenyo, who has a great game for them and is a handful throughout. Good to see someone comfortably make the step up from Championship to the Premier League.

Alisson makes a pretty shocking start to the game and has his technique to thank when he is booked for coming out of his box and chopping down Anthony after a poor touch. 

The reason I would’ve started Endo is because what we saw from Bournemouth wasn’t (or shouldn’t have been) any great surprise). It might only be Andoni Iraola’s second game in charge but we’re talking about a manager here who got four wins in nine against Barcelona and Real Madrid with Rayo Vallecano, so he knows how to take the game to the big boys with an unfancied team.

If intensity is Liverpool’s identity, then it was just a team of lookalikes on the pitch for the first 20 as Bournemouth play around Liverpool, who are so sloppy on the ball. 

This can happen at Anfield, making a slow start against a team we ‘should’ be beating. Usually, the way out of a slump like that is through individuals driving standards through their own performance and we see that today.

Robertson has suffered since the change of system in April but put in his best performance in that period today. He set the tempo after the sloppy start and drove Liverpool on. It was a performance full of energy and desire and he really took the responsibility of getting the Reds back into the game.

The best player on the pitch was Dominik Szoboszlai and like Robertson, he works hard and fights hard during Liverpool’s wretched first half an hour.

It’s a really good goal that gets us level. It’s a decent ball from Alexander-Arnold into Diogo Jota’s feet and he does really well to maintain control of it. His cut-back isn’t great and it gets a bit of luck before arriving with Luis Diaz.

It is quite brilliant from him, he does remarkably well to control it and then deliver an acrobatic finish. In normal circumstances, you wait for the ball to drop a little lower but can’t because of the attention of Illia Zabarnyi. 

Diaz’s technical ability is frightening at times and he’s started the season on fire. Two goals in two games and most positively for me is that both have come in the penalty area in close proximity to goal. For too long, Diaz was doing great stuff but in crap areas, which is why his end product and numbers weren’t great. 

Now that he’s operating in and around the box and making those runs, he’s capable of posting outstanding numbers.

Diaz is a bit of a game-changer for Liverpool. By that, I mean someone who can grab a game and sprinkle his influence all over it. He goes on a mazy solo run in the second half where the ball was glued to his feet. It was so reminiscent of an Eden Hazard or a Ronaldinho. He’s playing remarkably well, Diaz, and is a joy to watch.

Then comes the penalty. It’s great feet from Szoboszlai and though the penalty is soft, it’s also not a dive as there is contact between him and Joe Rothwell. It’s one of those that’s not a penalty and not a dive, it’s somewhere in between.

It’s another meh penalty from Mohamed Salah, who’d had a bit of a stinker up until that point. From about 2018-2021, his penalty technique was glorious, but he throws in a few here and there that are just lashed at without any placement. 

Neto does well to save it because it’s a powerful strike, but it’s also not a very clean strike. Fair play to Salah for tucking home the rebound, which are never as easy as they look, although it must be said the lack of intensity from Bournemouth after the save was surprising, and you could see Neto’s disappointment in that.

He doesn’t have a great day at all, Salah. Yet despite that, still comes away from it with a goal. To be fair, it’s a smart run from him that drags Marcos Senesi out of position to create space for Jota in the build-up to the Diaz goal. 

He has another couple of chances though that he should do better with, including a one-on-one in the second half which results in a tame shot when he really should’ve gone for the far corner. Milos Kerkez has an excellent performance up against him most of the day, to be fair.

Most of our chances from there on in come from set-pieces. Some of Robertson’s deliveries are exceptional and four times Liverpool have free headers - two for Van Dijk, one for Konate and one for Jota. Amazingly, none of them hit the target which is frustrating. 

The two centre-backs are marvellous today. Van Dijk looks back to his imperious self. Maybe the captaincy has re-ignited his focus, but whatever the reason is, he’s playing miles better than he was last season. Konate has been quality in the first two games as well.

At 2-1, it feels like a third goal is inevitable and that there’s only one way the game is heading. Then comes the curveball of the red card to Alexis Mac Allister. I’ve no idea where to start with this really, other than saying it’s a scandalous decision, an absolute joke not to overturn it.

VAR have somehow managed to make Wolves not getting a penalty at Old Trafford on Monday not the worst decision of the week. This red card is an outrage. Maybe it’s a yellow. Maybe. And that’s being generous. But a red card for that is just ludicrous. It’s foot-to-foot, the foot is high because that’s where the ball is, Ryan Christie also has his foot high for the same reason. Jesus Christ.

With 40 minutes to play against Bournemouth with a man down, the Reds do extremely well to win the game in my opinion. The next five minutes are huge. Liverpool respond so well to the adversity.

In the immediate aftermath, there’s some classic clock-slowing tactics, Alexander-Arnold pulling up his socks at a free-kick. Game smarts.  

Szoboszlai desperately deserved a goal after such a wonderful performance. I thought he was going to get it when his low, dare I say it… Gerrard-esque drive headed for the bottom corner, only to be parried by Neto and smashed home by Jota.

He’s a great poacher is Jota. He can be frustrating to watch up front because his link-up play isn’t the best, by any means, and I do think Cody Gakpo will be back there very soon, but Jota’s goal threat is second to none. He had a hard first half but pressed his backside off in the second half and I think that’s what probably stands him ahead of Darwin Nunez right now.

He scores goals that other players don’t. Forgive me for such a seemingly pointless remark, but Jota is so different to the rest of Liverpool’s forwards. I don’t think another Liverpool player scores that goal today, because I don’t think anyone else would look to occupy the position and make the run that he does. I think that for his winning Tottenham goal last season. Is anyone else anticipating that mistake? 

He always goes for power. He never hits the ball particularly true but when he hits the ball, it stays hit. Often his goals take deflections or go in off the keepers’ hands. Think of his goal at Arsenal in March 2022. Ramsdale gets two hands to that but the power Jota puts behind it means he can’t keep it out. 

Same for his first goal against Forest at the back end of last season. Wolves away in 2021 - the win that started the top 4 run at the back end of the behind-closed-doors season. Everton away in the 4-1.

It’s no bad thing. It might not be the most aesthetically pleasing but it’s a useful thing to have in your armoury. Ruud Van Nistelrooy was always a bit like that - just strike it with power. Dirk Kuyt too.

Klopp’s subs after the goal are good. He brings on Endo first of all. He makes a good start with a good tackle and a few decent reads before tailing off and making a few needless fouls towards the end, but it’s very hard circumstances to make your debut in.

I’ve heard him compared to both Lucas Leiva and James Milner and I can see both comparisons. He could be a Milner-type option from the bench who can cover a number of different roles as well as come and see a game out.

His actual attributes make him more of a Javier Mascherano-type. I’m not for one minute saying he’s as good as he was, of course, but he can tackle and move the ball progressively, as well as being quite good on the ball. I talked last week about how our midfield didn’t win enough tackles and he (and hopefully one more DM) can help improve that.

Harvey Elliott and Joe Gomez are the next subs and we go 4-4-1. Good decision from the manager. I know Gomez came on because of the injury to Alexander-Arnold, but he would’ve been a good sub anyway.

Nunez and Kostas Tsimikas are the final two changes and the Greek bizarrely ends up on the left wing. Liverpool become compact to help see the game out. Elliott cheaply gives the ball away a few times and you wonder if Bajcetic might have been a better option in the circumstances, with Szoboszlai wide.

He had a very strange first half but Alisson  ends the game superbly. Two magnificent saves, the second of which, to deny Amad Traore, is unbelievable. The stretch he gets on it is something very few keepers could do.

Like I said, four points from six is good, particularly given the fixtures, how today started and how it could’ve ended after the red card. The fact that Liverpool looked as likely to score as Bournemouth with ten men is testament to how well we do. 

Szoboszlai was great for the first hour and then becomes a man possessed after Mac Allister is sent off. He was absolutely tremendous and I think he is our Kevin De Bruyne. He creates, he drives, he has product, he’s dynamic. He’s got everything.

Knocks to Diaz and Alexander-Arnold will be a concern but hopefully they’ll be fine. Bajcetic and Endo in the fold. Liverpool go to Newcastle next week but as it stands will be without Mac Allister - they’ve simply got to appeal that one as it’s as stonewall as you’ll see. Another Paul Tierney masterclass.

Bournemouth are a decent side. Good result to beat them, great result given everything that went on.

Daniel