Bournemouth 0-1 Liverpool: Poacher Isak gives Iraola win against his former club
Liverpool edged past Bournemouth through an Alexander Isak goal as the Reds avoided a potential banana skin on a Premier League weekend full of upsets.
Isak’s second-half strike was the only moment of substance in a physical encounter largely bereft of goal-mouth action, and made Andoni Iraola’s return to Bournemouth a happy one.
The Cherries remain winless in the Premier League despite a strong first-half showing, but can have few complaints given their inability to turn pressure into chances.
Liverpool, led by the architect of today’s opposition, could have been under no illusions about the threat they were to face on the south coast, and yet they were outfought and out pressed in the first half by a Bournemouth side who showed no sign of fatigue from Thursday’s historic victory against Real Sociedad in the Europa League.
After a frantic start, Bournemouth settled into an early rhythm, constantly testing the Liverpool defence with balls down the channels and forcing mistakes from their midfielders with a tight man-to-man press.
Mac Alisster, Wirtz and Szoboszlai all struggled to get their foot on the ball as the issues that have dogged Liverpool in the centre of the park continued.
Jamie Carragher on commentary spared no punches in his criticism of Wirtz as the German number 10 struggled to keep up with the pace of the game.
The first big chance fell to Evanilson, whose backheel forced a sharp save from Alisson low to his right.
It was not until the 25th minute that Liverpool were able to enjoy a period of possession in the Bournemouth half, and even in this period they were unthreatening.
The only exception was when Bradley Barcola - who struggled to find the room to show his considerable speed - had a shot saved by the feet of Petrovic.
After the break, Ryan Christie drove forward and combined with Rayan, continuing his run to meet the Brazilian’s cross but steering his effort narrowly wide.
Just shy of the hour mark, Liverpool found an undeserved lead as in-form attacker Cody Gakpo, skipped past two defenders on the right before firing in a cross that deflected off James Hill as he lunged in front of Wirtz, and into the path of Isak, who swept the ball home from close range.
Gakpo assisted each of Isak’s first three goals of the season and is unfortunate not to have been given the assist for this one.
Isak, who scored so many goals flanked by Jacob Murphy at Newcastle, is benefiting from having the right-footed Gakpo supplying him this season and, with no natural right-winger in the squad, the emergence of this partnership will be a relief for Liverpool fans, especially considering Gakpo almost departed the club in the summer.
Gakpo fed Isak twice more soon after, but the Swedish striker could not convert.
Bournemouth laboured, but their exertions on Thursday night in Europe started to tell as they lost their sharpness and proved unable to test Alisson in any meaningful way.
Man of the match Jeremy Jacquet continued his strong start to life as a Liverpool player, stepping in to stop countless attacks and showing a level of proficiency on the ball that his predecessor, Ibrahima Konate, lacked.
Going into the international break, Liverpool will take encouragement from avoiding the fate of rivals Chelsea and Arsenal, who each suffered 3-0 losses away from home this weekend.
The Reds are unbeaten under Iraola and sit sixth in the division after five games; they host Manchester City next in the biggest test for their new manager so far.
Conversely, there is work to be done for Marco Rose as his side sit in 17th in the league despite encouraging performances; they will travel to Chelsea after the break in search of their first league win.
Comments