A double from Mohamed Salah earned Liverpool a hard-fought 2-0 victory at AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.
2024/2025 Premier League
0-2
Match Reports
A penalty in the opening period and a stunning curling effort in the second was enough for the Reds to secure three points on the south coast.
The win came in battling fashion at Vitality Stadium in the top-flight, with the spoils earned seeing Liverpool leap to an advantage of nine points at the top of the standings.
First half
Both teams exchanged early chances on the south coast as Antoine Semenyo saw a low shot saved by Alisson, before Luis Diaz had a close effort blocked from an Andy Robertson corner ball.
The two sides continued to battle for possession in the opening exchanges, Justin Kluivert was next to test the reactions of Liverpool’s No.1, while Cody Gakpo responded in the same fashion at the other end, forcing a strong stop from Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Semenyo again threatened and went closest of anyone in minute 20, rattling the post with a well struck driven shot from the left side of the box.
The Reds, though, responded once more with an opportunity of their own, Gakpo feeding in the onrushing Dominik Szoboszlai, who saw his chance pushed away from the right.
Liverpool, however, weren’t to be denied on the half hour mark, taking the lead from the penalty spot via Mohamed Salah.
Gakpo raced down the left flank to latch onto Robertson’s ball over the top, and was deemed to have been clipped in his effort to do so by the retreating Lewis Cook.
Salah duly stepped up and fired low into the bottom corner to break the deadlock and edge the Reds in front.
Ahead of the interval, Bournemouth did have the ball in the back of the net through David Brooks, though his shot from the edge of the box was immediately flagged offside as Milos Kerkez strayed too far ahead of his cutback.
Second half
Bournemouth started the better of the two teams after the change of ends, working three chances in the opening minutes.
Dango Ouattara first headed wide from a Brooks cross, ahead of Kluivert seeing a volley blocked by Ibrahima Konate and Semenyo's low shot saved by Alisson, who was fed in by a neat reverse pass from Ryan Christie.
Liverpool weathered the early pressure and began to play once more, with Alexis Mac Allister whistling a curling shot from a Salah pass off the right just inches past Kepa's post.
The Reds were being forced to battle for every ball as the game carried on in much the same fashion as the opening period, with both teams exchanging attacks.
Marcus Tavernier sent a warning to Liverpool, driving down the right, cutting inside from distance and smashing a dipping effort off the upright.
Kluivert raced in afterwards to meet the rebound, though he could only fire wide of the target with his follow-up opportunity.
With 15 minutes remaining, however, Salah added a second in sublime fashion to give Liverpool a two-goal cushion.
The No.11 took the ball from Jones in the box, stood up his defender and produced an impressive curling effort into the far corner of the net to earn breathing room.
In the closing minutes, Bournemouth pushed on to find a goal to haul themselves back into the game, but were held at bay by the Reds.
Semenyo went closest for the Cherries, driving low past the post from the edge of the area, though it was as near as they would come to getting on the scoresheet.
Line-ups
Bournemouth XI: Kepa, Ryan Christie, Lewis Cook, Brooks, Adams, Kluivert, Antoine Semenyo, Ilya Zabarnyi, Milos Kerkez, Dango Ouattara, Dean Huijsen
Subs: Marcus Tavernier, Will Dennis, Daniel Jebbison, Zain Silcott-Duberry, Matai Akinmboni, Ben Winterburn, Daniel Adu-Adjei, Max Kinsey, Remy Rees-Dottin
Liverpool XI: Alisson, Salah, Van Dijk, Robertson, Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Gakpo, Mac Allister, Szoboszlai, Luis Díaz, Gravenberch
Subs: Endo, Tsimikas, Jota, Kelleher, Nunez, Curtis Jones, Elliott, Quansah, Conor Bradley