PLAYER RATINGS: BOURNEMOUTH 1-0 LIVERPOOL

Liverpool succumbed to another woeful defeat on the road as they lost 1-0 to bottom of the table Bournemouth. Billing’s first half goal was the difference between the two sides, with Mohamed Salah missing a second half penalty. Here are player ratings from the encounter.

Alisson – 5

Not a lot he could do about the goal.

Alexander-Arnold – 5

Put one on Van Dijk’s head early on from a corner. Was creative when he got on the ball. Cleared one straight to Solanke which saw them break on the counter but he was solid enough defensively. Can’t understand why he goes off when there’s a game to chase.

Konaté – 5

Bailed out Van Dijk a couple of times. Should have done so again when he completely missed Outtara’s cross, allowing Billing to poke home the only goal of the game.

Van Dijk – 3

Woeful today. Saw a header cleared off the line after about five minutes. Should have scored from a free header at the backpost off another set piece but could only nod wide. Bullied by Solanke today.

Poor for their goal as he just stops tracking Outtara, allowing him to swing in the cross. Got on the end of so many attacking set pieces but wasted most of those openings. Shepherded Solanke out well when he countered late on.

Robertson – 4

Excellent delivery for Van Dijk’s second sitter. Outside set pieces he was quiet in an attacking sense. Caught out of position a lot too. Lazily pushed Outtara in the back when he was shaping to cross for their goal. Was sent through by a trademark Van Dijk diagonal early on and he shot straight at Neto.

Fabinho – 5

Won a few second balls in midfield. Another whose first instinct when receiving a pass was to turn backwards. Blazed one shot from range wildly off target.

Elliott – 5

Some neat and tidy touches in midfield. Combined well with Salah and Trent initially. Once they went a goal up you were left wanting more from him. Too many times he went backwards under the slightest sight of pressure. Bounced off Billing and went sprawling when attempting to halt his run. Hooked at the break.

Bajcetic – 5

Not his fault the result. Did some good things, driving the ball forward well at times. Made some mistakes on the ball, dwelling on it too long and over-elaborating at times. Not a lot wrong with the performance.

Salah – 2

Set up by Gakpo for a shot early on and it was tame, straight at Neto. Flitted in and out of the game after that. Handed a golden opportunity to level the scores from the spot and he curled his penalty way off target. Anonymous today.

Gakpo – 3.5

Looked sharp early on. Always looked a threat when he picked the ball up and turned. He won a few dangerous free kicks just by driving at the Cherries defence. Tired and his final ball suffered for it. Thought he’d go off for Firmino but he lasted the whole game. Lashed one over the bar deep into injury time.

Darwin – 4

Not really in it. Won some good headers out wide to create chances for teammates. One saw Gakpo convert but the Dutchman was in an offside position. Cut infield to fire one on target. His footwork was poor in tight spaces today. Moved to the tip of the attack second half but was hooked not long after that. Headed a set piece onto the roof of the net from an offside position. Caught offside a lot today.

Substitutes

Jota – 5.5

Saw a curling effort parried behind by Neto almost as soon as he came on. Won the penalty with a trademark leap at the backpost. His passing was abysmal, constantly playing it straight to a Bournemouth shirt when attempting to switch play.

Milner – 4

He is required when we’re trying to protect a lead, not when we’re chasing a game. Given the slip by Anthony a number of times. Our attacks down the right hand side slowed when he came on, although he did swing in the cross that eventually led to the penalty.

Henderson – 4

No sense of urgency whatsoever. Kept passing it sideways to his mate Milner. Did well on the cover as the last man on one or two counter attacks.

Firmino – 4

Didn’t make much of a difference.

Carvalho – N/A

Hasn’t been seen for months. Then brought on in the 87th minute today to try and salvage a draw.

Jürgen Klopp

Bold lineup as he dropped the skipper and went with the two teenagers in midfield. It didn’t backfire as such, but after going in 1-0 at the break he brought on Jota at halftime and changed to a 4-2-3-1 shape. His next set of subs weakened the side as he took off the only natural number 9 and the most creative outlet.

We were left with 37 year old Milner at right back and a whole host of false nines in the box trying to thread that eye of the needle pass that was never on in a box full of red shirts. Could have brought on Carvalho sooner perhaps. It’s inconsistency like this that sees us outside the top four this campaign. Beat United 7-0 one week, lose to bottom of the table the next. Typical.