Bottom of the Premier League Bournemouth pulled off a massive shock as they lifted themselves out of the relegation zone with a 1-0 win over in-form Liverpool at the Vitality Stadium.
Jurgen Klopp’s side flew out of the blocks, looking to pick up where they left off against Manchester United last Sunday. Mo Salah fired tamely at Neto, before Cody Gakpo found the back of the net only to be ruled offside and a Jefferson Lerma goalline clearance keeping his side in it.
Jefferson Lerma makes a vital goal-line clearance to deny Liverpool the opener 😱 pic.twitter.com/PMjyESeRFy
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) March 11, 2023
The Cherries looked threatening on the break, however, with Dango Outtara twice being through on goal only to fire wide and be denied by Virgil van Dijk.
And it was 21-year-old Outtara that provided the spark for the hosts to take the lead, with the winger running in behind the Liverpool defence before pulling the ball back to Phillip Billing, who fired past Alisson to hand Bournemouth a shock lead.
Philip Billing taps home the opener and it’s lift-off for Bournemouth 🚀 pic.twitter.com/mFVK90hIyj
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) March 11, 2023
Liverpool continued to look a shadow of the side that blew away the Red Devils six days ago, but were handed a golden chance to level the scores when Adam Smith handled the ball in the box.
Mo Salah, normally so reliable from the spot however, blazed well wide, much to the delight of the Bournemouth fans behind the goal.
Huge moment as Mohamed Salah misfires from the spot 😳 pic.twitter.com/EyaJ2paKO2
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) March 11, 2023
📰 Table Of Contents
Player Ratings
Bournemouth
- GK: Neto (7) – Had one save to make from Jota, but was largely untested.
- RB: Adam Smith (6) – Kept Nunez really quiet but struggled more against Jota and was responsible for giving away a penalty in the second half that he was fortunate Salah missed.
- CB: Marcos Senesi (8) – Showed some nice footwork in the Liverpool box to create a chance and was exceptional in the heart of the Cherries defence.
- CB: Jack Stephens (7) – A strong performance in the heart of defence from Stephens to help keep Liverpool out.
- LB: Llyod Kelly (7) – Kept Mohamed Salah virtually anonymous and forced Jurgen Klopp to remove Trent Alexander-Arnold. Excellent.
- RM: Dango Ouattara (9) – Liverpool found him virtually unplayable in the first half and he continued to threaten in behind with his pace in the second half. Helped out plenty defensively too.
- CM: Jefferson Lerma (7) – Made one vital goalline clearance in the first half to set the tone for the tie.
- CM: Phillip Billing (8) – Scored for the second week in a row and played the box-to-box role really well to help his attackers.
- CM: Joe Rothwell (7) – Was excellent in nullifying the Liverpool midfield and got through plenty of work.
- LM: Jaidon Antony (7) – Tidy and threatening on the opposite flank to Ouattara and showed some nice touches.
- ST: Dominic Solanke (7) – Held the ball up well and did his part well defensively too.
Substitutes
- Ryan Christie (7) – Held the ball up well and looked a threat on the break.
- Ryan Fredericks (6) – Didn’t put a foot wrong when coming on.
- Lewis Cook
- Antoine Semeneyo (N/A) – On for the final five minutes.
- Matias Vina (N/A) – On for the final five minutes.
Liverpool
- GK: Alisson (6) – Had very little to do apart from pick the ball out of his own net.
- RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold (5) – Another poor game from the Englishman who struggled to cope with the Bournemouth breaks and could offer nothing in attack.
- CB: Ibrahim Konate (5) – Played Outtara onside for the opening goal but was otherwise the most solid of Liverpool’s defence.
- CB: Virgil van Dijk (4) – Was all at sea in the first half defensively but dealt with a second half counter attack really well.
- LB: Andy Robertson (5) – Really struggled against Ouattara but looked effective going forwards and from set pieces.
- CM: Stefan Bajcetic (5) – After a bright start to life in a Liverpool shirt, this was one of his least effective performances at the club to date.
- CM: Fabinho (5) – A shadow of his former self this season, he continues to flatter to deceive for Jurgen Klopp’s side and it was he, not Bajcetic, that was taken off on the hour.
- CM: Harvey Elliot (5) – Looked lightweight in midfield and couldn’t stop Bournemouth from breaking through. Hooked at the break.
- RW: Mohamed Salah (4) – Had a really quiet game and, when handed a golden opportunity to level the game, blazed his penalty horribly wide.
- ST: Cody Gakpo (5) – Struggled to have any impact on the game.
- LW: Darwin Nunez (5) – Showed flashes in the first half but couldn’t really get into the game
Substitutes
- Diogo Jota (7) – Added some much needed impetus to Liverpool’s attacks, and forced a good save from Neto.
- James Milner (6) – Solid when he came on.
- Jordan Henderson (6) – Helped bring some poise to midfield but consistently threatened to be beaten on the counter attack.
- Roberto Firmino (6) – Tidy but couldn’t create anything.
- Fabio Carvalho (N/A) – On for the final five minutes.
Expert analysis
Since making his Premier League debut on the 21st of January, no player has provided more assists in the competition than Bournemouth’s Dango Ouattara (3). 🪄 pic.twitter.com/wQxKwESdTK
— Squawka (@Squawka) March 11, 2023
Liverpool haven’t yet won a Premier League away game this season when conceding first 👀 pic.twitter.com/FNMC1ftJRZ
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) March 11, 2023
Bournemouth’s last line is too deep. They should have spent some of that January money on a leader profile in the back line. It’s too easy for Liverpool to access their box, especially when considering the BOU press is quite basic too.
It’ll take a miracle to keep a clean sheet.
— EBL (@EBL2017) March 11, 2023
Bournemouth are winning the midfield, and as we’ve seen a bunch of times, that’s how you stop this Liverpool team from playing. It’s not that hard.
— The Tactical Times (@Tactical_Times) March 11, 2023
Keys for Liverpool in the second half:
#1) get Henderson on to increase the physicality in midfield.
#2) get Henderson on to set the tempo passing wise and wake the rest of the team up who have been careless technically outside of the first 20 minutes.
Get. Henderson. On.
— EBL (@EBL2017) March 11, 2023
Liverpool’s high line dysfunctional there, very poor goal to concede. Both with playing Ouattara onside then not good enough recovery defending to get back at him from Van Dijk, Robertson nor Konaté to intercept the cross.
— Premier League Panel (@PremLeaguePanel) March 11, 2023
For the first time in his Premier League career, Mohamed Salah has completely missed the target from the penalty spot. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/rPVzx0fh45
— Squawka (@Squawka) March 11, 2023
Fan Reaction
It’s lovely to see David Brooks back in the matchday squad for Bournemouth ❤️ pic.twitter.com/1ZSBLBprVh
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) March 11, 2023
That is atrocious defending.
— Daniel Childs ☕️ (@SonOfChelsea) March 11, 2023
Goal stands.
Liverpool defence really struggling to shackle Ouattara.
Very much a case of Dango unchained. https://t.co/864ZavWZIV
— Mark Mann-Bryans (@MarkyMBryans) March 11, 2023
Van Dijk off it today. Too nonchalant. More frustrating that he is looking elsewhere after his errors rather than to himself
— DaveOCKOP (@DaveOCKOP) March 11, 2023
No matter how many times I see it happens, the extent of Liverpool’s bad defending this season still shocks me.
— The Tactical Times (@Tactical_Times) March 11, 2023