The verdict from the Vitality Stadium following Liverpool’s 1-0 Premier League defeat to Bournemouth
The most perplexing aspect of everything here was that some people truly anticipated things to go differently for Liverpool.
Following one of the all-time greatest performances and results against Manchester United last week – a mauling so monumental that it rewrote the record books – many, with fair conviction, felt that the Reds had injected enough of confidence and belief to continue their timely upturn.
Despite a bruising start to 2023, a five-game unbeaten run that culminated last weekend against their fierce arch-rivals had convinced enough people that this Liverpool team was over the worst, that those aberrations at Wolves, Brentford, and Brighton were consigned to an ugly chapter of a forgettable season that was at least set to end on a happier, more welcome note. Not so.
United’s 7-0 thrashing was only an illusion. Liverpool is still stuck in this nightmare. Only three away wins all season were more symbolic of how things would play out in this little area of the south coast. The campaign has now suffered eight defeats, and the most infuriating aspect of that horrific statistic
When placed against their fellow giants, this isn’t a collection of players that struggle to stay up. Apart from Manchester United and Arsenal in the early weeks, Liverpool have not been beaten by anyone they see as their equal.
No, the dreadful defeats have come at the hands of Brentford and Wolves; Brighton and Nottingham Forest; Leeds and now Bournemouth: a team that appeared destined for relegation before to kick-off at the Vitality on Saturday.
It begs the issue of how terrible things could get in the Bernabeu on Wednesday night against Real Madrid. If this is the standard between now and the end of the season, it could be Liverpool’s last Champions League game for a long time.
Liverpool looked like a semi-serious team again after a run of 13 points from the past 15 available, but the Reds will have to take their medicine in the coming days. They were so far behind schedule that their attitude had to be called into question. It’s a rare accusation to throw at Klopp’s team, but it was evident here. Did they simply believe they needed to show up?
Liverpool would scoff at such comments, but if the lack of the appropriate attitude is severe, there can be few complaints about a lack of quality. They never got going and appeared less likely to score as the game progressed.
Liverpool looked like a semi-serious team again after a run of 13 points from the past 15 available, but the Reds will have to take their medicine in the coming days. They were so far behind schedule that their attitude had to be called into question. It’s a rare accusation to throw at Klopp’s team, but it was evident here. Did they simply believe they needed to show up?
Liverpool would scoff at such comments, but if the lack of the appropriate attitude is severe, there can be few complaints about a lack of quality. They never got going and appeared less likely to score as the game progressed.
When three other strikers were on the field, the sight of someone who resembled Salah listlessly sending the ball into the penalty area where no one was waiting summed it all up. The ball in was terrible, but his teammates were far more to blame for not being in a threatening location when a goal was desperately needed.
Bournemouth, who were thrashed 9-0 at Anfield in August, appeared poised to comfortably resist their opponents’ attempts until next week. How did the relegation-threatened Cherries have it so easy?
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