Liverpool lost out in a 7 goal thriller last night as Bournemouth mounted a brilliant comeback to defeat Jurgen Klopp’s mean by 4 goals to 3
The Reds were 3-1 up at one point, but Liverpool’s defence caved in as Bournemouth mounted a second half comeback. The result means that Liverpool’s 15-match unbeaten run has come to an end.
We take a look at the major talking points from the game:
Matip was a big miss for Jurgen Klopp’s side
Joel Matip – a free signing in the summer – missed the game due to an ankle injury. The towering defender has been imperious for Liverpool this season, and the notion that his absence could severely affect the Reds was proven true as Liverpool’s defence fell part in the second half to throw away 3 precious points.
At 6″5, Matip is a big asset when dealing with balls into the box, and his interceptions and tackling have been key to Liverpool stifling opposition teams and stopping counter-attacks, something they completely failed to do last night.
Matip also brings a composure to the defence that was sorely missed last night, and Liverpool will be hoping that his ankle injury heals as quickly as possible.
Divock Origi is thriving under Klopp
Origi’s development continues to impress, and Jurgen Klopp seems to know exactly what to do to get the best out of the striker. He replaced the injured Coutinho in the team, starting up front, while Roberto Firmino moved to the left wing.
The Belgian worked tirelessly and his finish for Liverpool’s second was brilliant. From an uncomfortable angle and from quite some distance, with two Bournemouth players charging in on the goal to cover it, Origi managed to place the ball perfectly into the net and doubled Liverpool’s lead.
This was a good show of composure from a youngster that will encourage Klopp, and it is likely that Origi will continue to start with Adam Lallana still not completely fit and Daniel Sturridge nursing an injury.
Klopp made an error picking Lucas ahead of Klavan
Klopp bewilderingly chose to play Lucas at centre back with Dejan Lovren, and this proved to be a huge mistake on the German’s part. It was odd that Klopp chose Lucas – who is naturally a defensive midfielder, ahead of Ragnar Klavan who Klopp signed for situations where he is short at centre-back, which is precisely what this was.
Lucas managed to win just 1 aerial duel the entire game, although he did manage to put in 3 tackles. However, the lack of cohesion between Lovren and Lucas was there for all to see, and Bournemouth’s comeback was in no small part down to Klopp’s error with his team selection.
Liverpool still haven’t addressed goalkeeper problem
Loris Karius – signed by Liverpool in the summer to compete with Simon Mignolet – was completely at fault for Bournemouth’s winning goal. The goalkeeper’s clumsy attempt to catch a ball into the box and his subsequent flailing left Nathan Ake with an open goal and Liverpool had suddenly lost the game in the 93rd minute.
Karius’ distribution is also still questionable, and the goalkeeper only managed a 65% pass success rate against Bournemouth last night. Simon Mignolet’s problems in goal are well documented, but it appears that Karius may also be similarly unreliable.
At 23, he has time to learn his trade. But if Liverpool want to challenge for the title, they need to be able to rely on their goalkeeper and Karius must improve soon.
