Liverpool played their second Premier League match at Anfield in 5 days as Bournemouth rolled over to Merseyside. Benik Afobe put the Cherries ahead before Philippe Coutinho scored the equaliser in the first-half. Liverpool came out fighting in the second-half to take the lead through Divock Origi but a late equaliser from Josh King meant Eddie Howe’s side left with a valuable away point.
The result ensures Liverpool stay in 3rd place for now, while Bournemouth are safe from relegation in 13th place. However, Liverpool continue to fail to see off teams from the bottom-half of the table and it could cost a top 4 spot as well.
Here are 5 talking points from the match.
#1 Liverpool and set-pieces
One of the perennial problems for Liverpool in recent years is dealing with set-pieces. Time and time again, the Reds are exposed while defending set-pieces with the previous match against Everton being another case where Liverpool’s passive defending led to Everton equalising in the first-half.
Liverpool showed that they have not learned from previous mistakes when they allowed Bournemouth attacker Marc Pugh a free shot at the back post from a corner near the 20-minute mark and were lucky that Pugh could not punish them.
However, similar to the game against Manchester United where Liverpool targeted Paul Pogba’s poor marking ability to finally win a penalty, Liverpool proved threatening from set-pieces against the Cherries. Dejan Lovren was a fraction late at the back post to tap in a free ball in the opening minutes.
Divock Origi had another good chance with his weaker left foot at the far post as Liverpool’s corner routine of directing the ball to the far post with a near post header making it difficult for Bournemouth to deal with.
After Bournemouth equalised in the second-half as Liverpool failed to deal with the second ball, Joel Matip and Ragnar Klavan came close to winning the game for Liverpool from set-pieces but for the finishing touches.
#2 Afobe and King prove to be a menace
Bournemouth started the match on the back foot as Liverpool made a quick start and Firmino took an early crack at goal. However, former Arsenal youth player Benik Afobe constantly pressed the Liverpool defence at every opportunity and this led to some risky footwork from Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet as the Cherries striker closed in on him.
His persistence paid off as he pounced on a poor back pass from Georginio Wijnaldum and tucked it away to put Bournemouth in front and underlined Liverpool’s sloppiness when playing against lower league opposition. This was Wijnaldum’s second error leading to goal after committing another error against Leicester City in February.
Ragnar Klavan, who came in for Joel Matip, was dodgy for most of the first-half, as was most of the team. He was outmuscled and outrun by Josh King, whose shot on the run went just wide of the goal.
After Liverpool had a sustained spell of control in the second-half and scored as well, King equalised for the Cherries late into the game by turning away from Klavan from a tight spot and buried the ball into the net. Both Afobe and King had a good game as their constant pressure and persistence fetched Bournemouth a point.
#3 Key players finding form for Liverpool
Injuries to Sadio Mane and Adam Lallana had reduced the pace, pressing and directness from this Liverpool side and the onus was on strikers Origi and Daniel Sturridge and, Brazilian stars Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino to step up and help Liverpool finish in the top 4.
One of the reasons for Liverpool’s horror start to 2017 was the loss in form of all the four players mentioned above and as a result, the team suffered. However, this time around, the players have started to respond with good form and the performances confirm it.
Coutinho looked to have turned a corner with his goal for Brazil last week and it turned out to be true as he put on a top tier performance against Everton last weekend. He continued the form with a well-taken goal to finish Roberto Firmino’s clever pass. The assist was the latter’s third in the last four games as he joins his international team-mate in getting back to form.
Origi came in for Mane in the last game and he continued his scoring form from that game to put Liverpool ahead in the second-half with a powerful header from Wijnaldum’s cross, who showed superb feet as he made up for his previous error. Meanwhile Lucas continues to be solid when called upon and Emre Can continues to be outstanding in every game and this bodes well for Liverpool for the run-in.
#4 Bournemouth once again have the last laugh
Last December, Liverpool threw away a 2-1 lead to lose 4-3 at the Vitality Stadium in a morale-shattering loss. Ryan Fraser came on as a substitute and wreaked havoc with his pace and directness to pull off a shock win.
This time around at Anfield, Liverpool gifted a goal to Bournemouth, to begin with, and finally fought their way back to go 2-1 up early into the second-half. The entry of Ryan Fraser for former Liverpool youngster Jordon Ibe - who had a torrid afternoon - sparked a hint of nostalgia but Liverpool did well to contain him.
However, Bournemouth equalised through Josh King late into the half to share the spoils with Liverpool. This was the second time this season that Howe’s side have stolen Liverpool’s thunder and raised question marks over the Reds’ defensive prowess.
#5 Jurgen Klopp got his tactics and substitutions wrong
Liverpool went ahead early in the second-half thanks to Divock Origi’s header. However, Coutinho was substituted immediately with Matip coming on as the Reds went three at the back. At that time, it looked like Klopp was testing a new system, but in the end, that tactical change ended up costing two points for the Reds.
The substitution made Liverpool too defensive and invited pressure on to a mentally weak defence. Instead of sending on Daniel Sturridge and trying to kill off the game, Liverpool’s decision to have Klavan on the pitch and allow Bournemouth to attack backfired as Josh King turned away from Klavan easily to score the second equaliser.
Klopp has been criticised for leaving it late to make the substitutions this season, and in this match, the early substitution did not work. Moreover, at no point did it look like Sturridge would be brought on and this tactic by Klopp to try a new system with that defence backfired.
Further, the result means Liverpool can still drop from third as Manchester City, Arsenal and Manchester United have at leat a game in hand. If Liverpool have to finish in the top 4, then they need to step up their performances and stop conceding goals.
