Liverpool disappoint again : English Premier League

Bournemouth hold their nerves.....

Klopp will be disappointed for sure. Angry he must be, and why not. His team has done it again. From the highs of the destruction of Manchester United to the utterly listless display at the Vitality stadium, down south right at the southern coast.

The Vitality is a small stadium, with a full house capacity of around 12000. It is nowhere near Anfield, in size, noise, or history. On this weekend, nothing mattered. Bournemouth who, just a few days ago had Arsenal on the carpet for almost 90 minutes, before a Reiss Nelson thunderbolt sunk them, were busy as usual. They fought for the ball, defended astutely, and were a threat as usual on the counter.

Liverpool was a shadow of the team that thrashed United. With four on the top, one expected more from them than just keeping Bournemouth pegged back. The midfield was bereft of ideas, passing the ball around, hardly progressing the ball. The fact that most of what Robertson did on the left flank was the most attacking, says a lot about the forward line.

On the break, Bournemouth looked dangerous. While Solanke and Billing were busy on the run, it was Ouattara who was a constant threat. He gets off the block fast and puts in a good stride. Liverpool left too many gaps for Ouattara to run in and they paid for it. Running in deep he streaked past a sluggish Konate and cut back into the box. Billing, as he did at the Emirates, tapped it in. Liverpool had paid for the spaces they vacated.

Klopp shuffled his deck, threw in Jota and Firmino, and pulled Nunez and Trent out. But then nothing changed. Liverpool continued to hover around in the midfield and outside the box. looking woefully bereft of ideas.

Strangely, it took Bournemouth to provide them with a lifeline. A handball in the box gave them a chance. Salah blew his cheeks out into the wintery evening, ran in at an angle, and with the goalie going the other way, sent the ball wide. Salah had blown it and Liverpool looked doomed. It was uncharacteristic of Salah, but then that summed up Liverpool's season. Just a few months ago, they humiliated the Cherries with a 9-0 win. More recently they scored 7 and it was back into the chasm for them within a week.

Bournemouth is far from safe, they are keeping themselves afloat, but just. This win should help their cause and confidence.

Liverpool, on the other hand, has seldom been in this kindle of a pickle. The Champions League is a lost cause, a top-four finish at home seems to be a fading target. Chelsea is chasing, and Tottenham is holding on to the qualification spot.

It will need a lot of work, and a bit of luck to keep the hopes of Europe in the next season alive. It is an uphill task, but then Liverpool brought it upon themselves and they must themselves untangle this.

Walk on .......the supporters sing...

it may not be as easy as that sounds...

ask a certain bearded gentleman

Sudhir Bhattathiripad

Be A Sport

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