Bournemouth pulled off a surprise 1-0 victory against Liverpool and climbed out of the relegation zone, thanks to Philip Billing’s first-half goal, while Mohamed Salah failed to convert a penalty.
Bournemouth secures a stunning 1-0 victory against Liverpool
Bournemouth faced Liverpool in a highly-anticipated match where they were the underdogs, but managed to pull off a shock victory. The match was played at Vitality Stadium on a chilly evening, and the hosts switched from a back three to a back four for this game. Liverpool started strong and posed an early threat, with Virgil van Dijk seeing a towering back-post header cleared off the line by Jefferson Lerma, who showed alertness and composure to head the ball away after a precise Trent Alexander-Arnold corner.
Dango Ouattara had a chance to score the first goal for Bournemouth shortly after, but could only find the side netting after rounding Alisson during a swift counter-attacking move. Liverpool had a goal ruled out for offside in an action-packed first 20 minutes, with Cody Gakpo beyond the last defender when he latched on to a Darwin Nunez header to volley into the net.
Bournemouth continued to look dangerous on the counter and took the lead against the run of play after Ouattara beat the offside trap after a ball over the top from Smith. Ibrahim Konate was playing the £20m January arrival on and Ouattara capitalised on a slip from Van Dijk to get to the byline and square for Philip Billing, who ran into the box and tapped home from seven yards.
Liverpool looked stunned by going a goal down, but started the second half on the front foot with an instant impact from substitute Diogo Jota, on in place of Harvey Elliot, who drove at the Bournemouth defence and fired a powerful shot that forced a diving save from Neto.
Salah misses penalty as Liverpool’s top-four hopes diminish
Liverpool were awarded a penalty with just over 20 minutes remaining as referee John Brooks consulted the VAR screen and penalised Adam Smith for handball when he blocked a goal-bound header from substitute Diogo Jota. However, Mohamed Salah missed a glorious opportunity to equalise from the spot, missing the target from 12 yards after Smith was adjudged to have handled in the box following a header from Jota.
The miss proved to be costly as Liverpool failed to convert their chances, despite a late surge, which included a shot from substitute Ryan Christie that was saved by Alisson. Gakpo fired over in injury time as Gary O’Neil’s side held on to claim a vital three points.
Bournemouth climb out of the relegation zone
Bournemouth’s win against Liverpool was an important one as it saw them climb off the bottom of the table to 16th, while Liverpool stay fifth ahead of the rest of the weekend’s fixtures. The result saw Bournemouth claim an important three points, denting Liverpool’s top-four hopes. Bournemouth’s January arrival, Dango Ouattara, was instrumental in the victory, as he raced away from Van Dijk and cut the ball back for Billing to poke home from close range in the 28th minute.
Conclusion
Bournemouth’s victory against Liverpool was a great feat for the team, who played with conviction and purpose. Liverpool, on the other hand, failed to convert their chances, despite having a majority of possession throughout the game. The miss from Salah proved to be costly, and the team now faces an uphill task to finish in the top four. It will be interesting to see how they respond to this defeat in their upcoming fixtures.