Salah at the double as Liverpool march on: Five talking points from Bournemouth 0-2 Liverpool | OneFootball

Mo Salah continued his phenomenal season by scoring a double to secure Liverpool victory over high flying Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.

He struck his first from the penalty spot in the first half before bending into the far corner in the second with a trademark Salah finish.

It was not as straightforward a victory as it may seem for Liverpool, however. Here’s five talking points from the game…

Ruthless Liverpool keep finding a way

Not for the first time this season, Liverpool were not at their absolute best but found a way to win the game. On another day Bournemouth could well have got something, hitting the woodwork twice before Salah’s second and wasting some other big chances too. But Arne Slot’s side are so ruthless. Salah was quiet in the second half before he was presented with enough space on the left of the box to curl into the far corner, giving Kepa no chance. Analysis of Arsenal, Chelsea and others in recent weeks has rightfully pointed to poor finishing as a big factor behind disappointing results. This is what gives Liverpool the edge. They are able to punish teams far more often.

Penalty controversy sets Liverpool on their way to victory

It took a penalty to separate the two sides in the first half and a controversial one at that. Cody Gakpo went down under pressure from Lewis Cook in the box but it was difficult to spot any contact in the replays, and if there was any it was certainly minimal. Gakpo was sent tumbling after clipping his own heel but VAR deemed there was enough influence from Cook not to overturn the referee’s decision. A tough one to take for the Cherries, with Salah making no mistake from the spot.

Mo Salah converts his penalty against Bournemouth (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images) via ONE FOOTBALL

Bournemouth are missing a striker

Losing not just one but two strikers to injury was a big blow for boss Andoni Iraola but one that has perhaps gone under the radar given the Cherries’ outstanding run of form of late. With Evanilson and Enes Unal both unavailable, Dango Ouattara again led the line fresh off of a hat-trick in last weekend’s 5-0 thrashing of Nottingham Forest. He is a dangerous player and a real threat in behind, but when the ball was played into his feet and he had the chance to run at the Liverpool defence, his quality of passing was poor, and he saw so many of his attempted through balls cut out with ease. It is clear why Iraola wants to sign a striker before the transfer window deadline. Bournemouth missed that link-up presence that Evanilson in particular provides.

Trent Alexander-Arnold was targeted

Bournemouth had a clear plan to attack down their left-hand side through Antoine Semenyo and Milos Kerkez on the overlap, trying to create a two v one situation with Alexander-Arnold. It caused the England full-back all sorts of problems and Semenyo certainly had the better of him. It looked as though that plan had resulted in a first-half equaliser when Kerkez picked out David Brooks to find the bottom corner but replays showed the left-back was marginally offside.

Salah climbs the all-time Premier League scoring chart

Salah’s double means he has now overtaken Frank Lampard and is into sixth in the all-time Premier League scoring chart with 178 goals, a phenomenal achievement. It would be surprising if he did not climb higher too, even if this is his last season at Liverpool, with Sergio Aguero up next in fifth on 184 goals and then Andy Cole on 187. Salah has affirmed his status as one of the Premier League’s truly great goalscorers this season.