Bournemouth 0-2 Liverpool: Match report & 3 talking points as Reds open up nine-point lead | OneFootball

A wasteful Bournemouth were consigned to a 2-0 defeat at home to Liverpool on Saturday afternoon.

Mohamed Salah's clinically taken brace was enough for Liverpool to edge out their spirited hosts, who squandered numerous chances to emerge with at least a share of the spoils from this lofty clash.

In the end, Liverpool held on to collect another victory and extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table to nine points.

How the game unfolded

On a weekend when Arsenal go up against Manchester City, few could argue with Arne Slot when the Liverpool boss described his side's trip to Bournemouth as the "big one". Both clubs bounced into the weekend's contest boasting double-digit unbeaten league runs and each side started with the confidence such a streak provides.

Bournemouth had their first shot inside the opening 15 seconds while Dean Huijsen was forced into a last-ditch block on Luis Diaz before there were two minutes on the clock, setting the tone for an enthralling jab-jab, thrust-thrust encounter. Antoine Semenyo cracked an effort off the frame of Alisson's goal midway through the first half as the Cherries created the better openings.

However, it was Liverpool who took the lead. Cody Gakpo squirrelled around Lewis Cook, a natural midfielder shoehorned into Bournemouth's injury-ravaged backline, and tumbled after a tangle of legs. Salah made no mistake from 12 yards.

Andoni Iraola's hosts were rocked by that opener - which came against the run of play - but roared out to start the second half with renewed energy. Bournemouth rattled off three efforts after the break before Liverpool had a touch inside their box, rebuffed by a combination of desperate blocks and Alisson's imperious reflexes.

"If we want to take a point," Iraola warned pre-game, "we will need goals and we will need to be clinical." Justin Kluivert failed to fulfil his manager's brief. Buoyed by a blistering run of six goals in his last four appearances, the in-form Dutchman was presented with an open net to add to his haul. Marcus Tavernier's vicious effort clanked off Alisson's post and into Kluivert's stride only for his teammate to shank his effort wide six yards from goal.

Salah showed no such profligacy at the other end. Collecting the ball on the right-hand side of Bournemouth's box at the culmination of a swift counter-attack, Liverpool's finisher-in-chief bent a lazy curling effort into the far corner with 15 minutes remaining.

Bournemouth still found time for more opportunities, twice going close through Semenyo as they finished the contest with more of what Opta define as 'big chances' (four) than Liverpool managed (three). While they can take heart from their performance, the Reds return to Merseyside with three more points.

Check out Bournemouth 0-2 Liverpool player ratings here.

Slot's control vs Iraola's chaos

Andoni Iraola (right) pitted his wits against Arne Slot on Saturday / Catherine Ivill - AMA/GettyImages

Iraola, a self-confessed Marcelo Bielsa disciple, freely admits that he is "ready to accept [a] kind of disorder" in his team's attacking approach. This helter-skelter style, an approach which accepts that some duels may be lost but more will be won, is almost diametrically opposed to the extra layer of control which Slot has inspired at Liverpool.

During the first half-hour of Saturday's contest, Bournemouth sucked Liverpool into their vortex of chaos. There were 11 shots in first 25 minutes, one every 136 seconds, as the gravity of the game crashed from one end of the pitch to the other. Liverpool held Bournemouth at bay after Salah's opener, denying their hosts a single effort for the remainder of the first half, but that respite proved to be brief.

The temperature of the game was so hot that even Alexis Mac Allister lost his cool. The cerebral Argentine stalked around the pitch with a permanent scowl and was perhaps fortunate to avoid a second yellow card before Slot hooked him off on the hour mark.

Bournemouth forced Alisson into three impressive stops and finished the contest with 14 efforts on goal - Liverpool have only conceded more shots in two previous Premier League games this season, and one of those was the Cherries' trip to Anfield in August.

Mohamed Salah rubbing shoulders with giants

Mohamed Salah hit a number of landmarks with his strike on Saturday / Mike Hewitt/GettyImages

Salah's unerring consistency can normalise his brilliance. Liverpool's talisman took his tally to 21 Premier League goals already this season. By hitting that landmark figure - one which neither Michael Owen nor Steven Gerrard ever managed for the Reds - yet again, Salah became just the fifth player in Premier League history to ever score 20 or more goals in five different seasons.

This remarkable feat has only previously been achieved by Alan Shearer (who scored 20-plus goals in seven seasons), Sergio Aguero (six), Thierry Henry and Harry Kane (both five). Four undisputed Premier League legends - an illustrious group which Salah undoubtedly has to be a part of.

Salah can now point to 301 career goals, 178 of which have come in the Premier League - which is more than Chelsea icon Frank Lampard amassed in 609 top-flight appearances (more than double Salah's number of games played) and takes him to sixth on the all-time list of the competition's top scorers.

Trent Alexander-Arnold injury scare ahead of crucial February

Trent Alexander-Arnold was forced off on Saturday / Catherine Ivill - AMA/GettyImages

While Liverpool will end Saturday with a nine-point cushion above their nearest challengers, avoiding the banana skin which Arsenal and Manchester City have slipped on at the Vitality Stadium, it wasn't a victory devoid of negatives.

The sight of Trent Alexander-Arnold limping off on the hour mark will be a particular concern for Slot. While the academy graduate may be into the final six months of his Liverpool career, the Reds batted away multiple Real Madrid bids so that they could keep Alexander-Arnold on the pitch for the remainder of the season.

It remains to be seen how severe the muscular damage is, but the hectic fixture list affords little time for recovery. Liverpool host Tottenham Hotspur in the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final on Thursday and trail in that tie. After the fourth round of the FA Cup, there is the small matter of the last-ever Merseyside derby at Goodison Park against an Everton team which has found a rich vein of form under David Moyes.