Full Time: Liverpool 3-0 Bournemouth
Liverpool kept the pressure on Manchester United with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Bournemouth. The win puts them within touching distance of second place in the Premier League.
Sadio Mane opened the scoring after just seven minutes before Mohamed Salah made it 2-0 with a deft header from Alexander-Arnold’s cross.
Roberto Firmino put the icing on the cake with a good finish in the injury time as Jurgen Klopp’s boys saw off the Cherries.
Liverpool Player ratings
Loris Karius – 6/10
Karius was a mere spectator this evening before he made a great reaction save to keep his clean sheet intact.
Trent Alexander-Arnold – 9/10
Alexander-Arnold was excellent, bombarded up and down the right-hand side with so much ease and poise. His deliveries were crisp and he created one for Salah to score. A top display!
Virgil van Dijk – 7/10
He had a field day as Bournemouth hardly threatened. Strong and commanding in the air, the Dutchman was present to head away all the dangers that came their way.
Dejan Lovren – 8/10
Another top performance from Lovren. He denied any space for Jermain Defoe to excel. He was forced off after picking up a knock late on.
Andrew Robertson – 8/10
Robertson has made the left-back slot his own. He kept the nippy Ryan Fraser at bay and was always eager to get forward and help the attack.
Jordan Henderson – 8/10
Put in a fantastic cross for Mane’s opener. Dominated the midfield with his wide range of passing abilities. Covered a lot of ground and made some good tackles.
Gini Wijnaldum – 7/10
Wijnaldum started in an advanced role and kept the Reds on the front-foot with his energy and gusto. He also helped out defensively whenever required.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – 8/10
Chamberlain put in a great shift against Bournemouth. He made some lung-busting runs early on to set the tempo of the game. He worked tirelessly and made some crunching tackles; the only thing missing was a goal to his name.
Mohamed Salah – 8/10
Salah was uncharacteristically sloppy in front of goal but struck a truly brilliant header to grab his 40th goal of the season in all competitions.
Sadio Mane – 8/10
Mane slammed home the opening goal at the second attempt and was a constant threat to Bournemouth.
Roberto Firminio – 8/10
Led the attack with his usual energy and his hard work paid off late in the stoppage time when he scored Liverpool’s third.
Substitutes
James Milner – 6/10
Came on for a 13-minute cameo.
Ragnar Klavan – N/A
Good to see him back.
Dominic Solanke – N/A
Barely had a touch to make an impact.
