10-man Liverpool came from behind to beat Bournemouth 3-1 in their English Premier League clash at Anfield on Saturday.
Goals from Luis Diaz, Mohamed Salah and Diogo Jota more than made up for Antoine Semenyo’s early opener.
Liverpool made light of playing a third of the match with 10 men after Alexis Mac Allister was sent off for a high tackle.
The hosts sealed their first win of the season with relative ease – though they were given a scare in the opening spell.
The visitors’ new coach, Andoni Iraola, set up his side to swarm Liverpool’s midfielders – a tactic that worked a charm as Jaidon Anthony had a goal disallowed for offside in the first minute.
Two minutes later, the Reds, who drew 1-1 at Chelsea in their opener, were left shocked.
This was when Trent Alexander-Arnold, who was playing as a midfielder in possession, lost the ball in a dangerous area before Semenyo fired the south-coast club in front.
Following the dismal start, Liverpool, who have not lost to Bournemouth at Anfield before, grew into the contest.
Diaz got the breakthrough in the 27th minute as he flicked the ball into the air and scored with an acrobatic volley.
Bournemouth defender Joe Rothwell then brought down Dominik Szoboszlai.
Salah, who missed a penalty when the two sides last met in March, had his spot-kick saved before smashing home the follow-up to make it 2-1 in the 36th minute.
Liverpool kept up the pressure in the second half and scored their third goal through Jota in the 62nd minute, in spite of having gone down to 10 men just before the hour mark.
This was when Mac Allister was shown a straight red for a high tackle on Rothwell in the 58th minute.
Mac Allister’s sending off made little difference to Liverpool’s dominance as they outplayed Bournemouth in the second half.
Goalkeeper Neto did well to keep the deficit in check, saving efforts from Salah and Jota to prevent another thrashing like the 9-0 defeat Bournemouth were handed on their last visit to Anfield.
Liverpool’s new signing Wataru Endo, who came off the bench in the second half, had a strong showing on his debut, asserting himself in midfield as the hosts coasted to victory.
Bournemouth next host Tottenham Hotspur, while Liverpool will travel to face Newcastle United.
NAN
