- Liverpool produced an attacking masterclass away to Bournemouth this afternoon.
- Coutinho, Salah and Firmino all registered goals for the Reds as the Liverpool front three ran riot.
- Dejan Lovren also registered a goal for Liverpool after a tough start to the season for the Croatian.
- READ ALSO: Bad news for Liverpool as CEO of huge Champions League club wants to sign Reds star on a free next month
Liverpool ran riot over Bournemouth during a 4-0 win today with Philippe Coutinho and Mohammed Salah both staring.
The floodgates opened on the 20th minute for the Reds when Philippe Coutinho registered an impressive solo effort to put Jurgen Klopp’s side ahead.
Dejan Lovren then added a second just six minutes later before Mohammed Salah registered his 20th goal of the season for Liverpool in all competitions with just one minute remaining in the first-half.
Philippe Coutinho then turned provider in the second-half after opening the scoring in the first. The Brazilian playmaker found his national teammate Roberto Firmino in the 66th minute with a superb cross as Liverpool added to Bournemouth’s already growing misery.
The win sees Liverpool jump above Arsenal into the top three with the Reds picking up their ninth win of the season.
Man of the match
Philippe Coutinho’s goal today was a superb individual effort and one that embodied his entire performance. The Brazilian glided past Bournemouth defenders as if they didn’t exist before slotting the ball past Asmir Begovic.
The star then turned provider in the second-half with his vision and creativity producing a number of chances for the Reds including an assist for Roberto Firmino’s goal.
A masterclass from the little number ten!
Flop of the match
Nathan Ake’s afternoon got off to a bad start with the Dutchman picking up a yellow card after just ten minutes. The youngster then struggled throughout to cope with the pace and movement of Liverpool’s front three and looked helpless throughout. Certainly one to forget for Ake.
Stat of the match
What a signing!
20 – Mohamed Salah is the first @premierleague player to have scored 20 goals in all competitions this season. Prolific. pic.twitter.com/bNM7kCFuim
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 17, 2017
Player Ratings
Bournemouth: Begovic 5, Smith 5, Francis 5, Ake 4, Daniels 4, Ibe 6, Cook, King 4, Surman 5, Pugh 4, Defoe 6.
Subs: Cook 6, Fraser 5, Stanislas 5.
Liverpool: Mignolet 6, Gomez 6, Lovren 7, Klaven 6, Robertson 6, Henderson 6, Wijnaldum 6, Oxlade-Chamberlain 7, Coutinho 9, Salah 8, Firmino 8.
Subs: Lallana 5, Ings n/a, Solanke 6.
Reaction
Plenty of praise for Salah and Coutinho. Even Liverpool legend John Arne Riise couldn’t help but get involved…
Salah is turning into Arjen Robben. Everyone knows what’s coming but they can’t do anything about it.
— Raphael Honigstein (@honigstein) December 17, 2017
20 goals already for Salah!! There is no stopping the Egyptian master! Giving the left back a freakin hard time ?
— John Arne Riise (@JARiiseOfficial) December 17, 2017
Mo Salah now has the same amount of goals for Liverpool as Sadio Mane (20). Incredible.
— DaveOCKOP (@DaveOCKOP) December 17, 2017
Salah has scored more goals in half a season than Hazard in a full season for Chelsea.
— SamueI (@VintageSalah) December 17, 2017
Love Coutinho’s long range strikes but that might just be his best goal for Liverpool. Leaves 6 players for dead. The kind Messi would be proud of.
— Joel Rabinowitz (@joel_archie) December 17, 2017
Oh my fucking God, I adore the way Philippe Coutinho plays football. Unbelievable intelligence, 99% of footballers would shoot, but he waited for the last defender to close in on him, to deviate diagonally, send him the wrong way and score. He had it all planned in his head.
— Seleção Brasileira (@BrazilStat) December 17, 2017