Liverpool moved to the highest of the Premier League as a first-half blitz helped them beat Bournemouth 3-0 at Anfield.
Two targets in two minutes from Luis Diaz and an exquisite Darwin Nunez strike helped the Reds take a three-goal lead into the half-time break.
And so they had little bother in holding onto that end result to make sure a shock defeat to Nottingham Forest final outing was rapidly put behind them.
How the sport unfolded
Bournemouth thought they’d made the right begin when Antoine Semenyo slid in to complete a deflected Justin Kluivert cross after simply 4 minutes, however a short VAR examine confirmed preliminary suspicions of offside.
And that let-off solely prompted Liverpool to start out piling on the strain, with Diaz, Mohamed Salah and Nunez all forcing Kepa Arrizabalaga into sharp saves in fast succession.
However, whereas the visiting goalkeeper had impressed in these moments, his resolution to hurry out in direction of a ball excessive he couldn’t attain gave Diaz the liberty to faucet into an empty internet with 26 minutes gone.
The Colombian made it two shortly after, passing the ball via Kepa’s legs on his weaker left foot from a decent angle after being performed in by Trent Alexander-Arnold.
And Liverpool put the seal on a superb first-half efficiency when Nunez curled in fantastically after chopping in from the right-hand facet.
With the sport all however determined by the hosts’ first-half exploits, it was maybe no shock that the second took on a extra sedate tempo.
Nonetheless, Liverpool had their probabilities to place the sport even out of sight, with a weak Salah effort after dribbling into the field and a late Curtis Jones try on the counter maybe their finest.
Bournemouth, in the meantime, hit the bar after pinball at a nook as they got here near decreasing the deficit with lower than ten minutes remaining.
Nonetheless, the end result by no means actually appeared unsure, with Arne Slot’s males largely easing to an necessary three factors.
GK: Caoimhin Kelleher – 6/10 – Adopted up a free cross by making an amazing save within the first half however didn’t have a lot to do after that.
RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold – 7/10 – Picked an ideal cross to play in Diaz for the second and did very well in one-v-one battles down his facet.
CB: Ibrahima Konate – 7/10 – Cracked the sport open with a ball excessive for Diaz and performed a key function in stemming Bournemouth’s attacking menace.
CB: Virgil van Dijk – 7/10 – Not often troubled however that has so much to do with how good he’s and the very fact he didn’t give the guests a sniff.
LB: Andy Robertson – 6/10 – An brisk presence on the left-hand facet, linking effectively with Diaz within the attacking part.
DM: Alexis Mac Allister – 8/10 – A midfield all-rounder who’s being unlocked by Slot’s use of a deep-lying midfield two. Ran the present alongside along with his companion Gravenberch.
DM: Ryan Gravenberch – 8/10 – He’s quick turning into certainly one of Liverpool’s key males. Produced some outrageous moments of shut management, used the ball brilliantly and was all the time there to plug gaps within the center.
RM: Mohamed Salah – 6/10 – He has probably had higher video games for Liverpool however he nonetheless contributed to a powerful crew show.
AM: Dominik Szoboszlai – 6/10 – One other energetic efficiency from the Hungarian, however he would have made a far larger influence on the sport have been he just a little tidier across the opposition field.
LM: Luis Diaz – 8/10 – If the Colombian continues so as to add targets to his sport on this method, then it’s onerous to argue that he’s something however the full winger.
CF: Darwin Nunez – 7/10 – Responded to a primary begin of the season by scoring a wonderful aim that may do wonders for his confidence. Additionally backed it up by being a relentless menace.
Substitutes
SUB: Curtis Jones (61′ for Szoboszlai) – 6/10
SUB: Federico Chiesa (72′ for Nunez) – 6/10
SUB: Cody Gakpo (72′ for Diaz) – 6/10
Subs not used: Vitezslav Jaros (GK), Joe Gomez, Diogo Jota, Kostas Tsimikas, Jarell Quansah, Conor Bradley.
Supervisor
Arne Slot – 8/10 – Set his facet up completely to bounce again from defeat to Forest. It has been a superb week for the Dutchman.
GK: Kepa Arrizabalaga – 4/10 – Had made some glorious saves previous to conceding the primary aim however was largely at fault for that after which too simple to beat after.
RB: Julian Araujo – 3/10 – All at sea for Liverpool’s first and second targets and comprehensively misplaced his particular person battle with Diaz.
CB: Dean Huijsen – 5/10 – Like his centre-half companion, he was too usually left uncovered, however you would additionally say he did not take care of that significantly effectively, both.
CB: Illia Zabarnyi 6/10 – Gained sufficient of his battles however was given an excessive amount of to do by wave after wave of Liverpool assault.
LB: Milos Kerkez – 6/10 – Was all the time a superb outlet for Bournemouth and did in addition to may very well be hoped up in opposition to Mohamed Salah.
DM: Lewis Prepare dinner – 5/10 – Put himself about however didn’t do sufficient to cease Liverpool’s midfield operating throughout his crew.
DM: Ryan Christie – 5/10 – Accomplished each cross however did not make a single deal with throughout his time on the pitch as Bournemouth have been overrun within the center.
RM: Antoine Semenyo – 6/10 – Had an early aim chalked off and was Bournemouth’s largest menace along with his out-to-in runs. Let down by these round him.
AM: Justin Kluivert – 5/10 – Seemed shiny early doorways however light badly earlier than being dragged off at half-time.
LM: Marcus Tavernier – 5/10 – A noble effort to strive make issues occur however merely did not have sufficient to get via Liverpool’s defence.
CF: Evanilson – 4/10 – A largely peripheral determine as Bournemouth didn’t maintain any attacking momentum.
Substitutes
SUB: Dango Ouattara (46′ for Kluivert) – 7/10
SUB: Alex Scott (70′ for Christie) – 6/10
SUB: Adam Smith (70′ for Araujo) – 6/10
SUB: Luis Sinisterra (70′ for Semenyo) – 7/10
SUB: Enes Unal (76′ for Evanilson) – 6/10
Subs not used: Mark Travers (GK), Marcos Senesi, David Brooks, James Hill.
Supervisor
Andoni Iraola – 5/10 – Dragged it again just a little along with his second-half subs however his crew had no reply for Liverpool’s sharpness in the midst of the park.
