Liverpool moved back into the top four with a scintillating attacking performance that blew away Bournemouth 4-0 on Super Sunday.
In a blistering display of skill, pace and ruthless finishing, Liverpool raced into a 3-0 half-time lead with strikes from Philippe Coutinho (20), Dejan Lovren (26) and Mo Salah (44), who was notching his 14th Premier League goal of the season already.
Roberto Firmino (66) added a fourth as there was to be no repeat of the Bournemouth comeback of last season in this fixture, where they won 4-3 after a rousing late rally.
After back-to-back draws at Anfield with Everton and West Brom, Jurgen Klopp’s men jumped above Burnley and Arsenal with their fourth away win in a row – a run that has seen them score 16 goals. It tees up a tasty Premier League encounter at Arsenal on Friday night, live on Sky Sports.
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The defeat was the Cherries’ fifth home defeat this season and they are hovering above the relegation zone by just one point with an ominous trip to Manchester City next up in the Premier League.
Liverpool were quickly into their stride.
Coutinho already had fired a free-kick against the post when he dazzled the Vitality Stadium on 20 minutes with a sublime individual goal.
Linking with Andrew Robertson on the left, Coutinho skipped inside, sold a dummy to Simon Francis before rolling a low effort into the bottom corner.
Bournemouth had little answer to Liverpool’s dominance and they fell two behind six minutes later. A corner which looked to be looping out for a goal kick was kept alive by Firmino and his poked cross was bravely headed home by Lovren – his first goal since October 2016.
Bournemouth thought they were back in it when Jermain Defoe skipped through one-on-one with Simon Mignolet but the usually deadly marksman struck the post. It was a crucial moment in the game as five minutes later, Liverpool were three up.
Salah took Charlie Daniels down the line before twisting back inside and firing a low effort into the net. With the goal, the Premier League’s top scorer became the first Liverpool player to score 20+ goals in a season (all competitions) since Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge both did so during the 2013/14 campaign.
There was no stopping the rampant Reds, who continued to swarm forward. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain struck the post after a fine tackle in midfield before Firmino did find the net on 66 minutes, flicking home Coutinho’s wonderful cross.
Bournemouth had no answers to Liverpool’s brilliance.
