Alex Keble analyses how Liverpool dealt with the absences of Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold to cruise to a 4-0 win at AFC Bournemouth and go five points clear at the top.
The prevailing wisdom that Liverpool are a little too raw or dishevelled just doesn’t stand up to scrutiny any more.
No matter how chaotic their wins can appear, particularly compared with the ultra-regimented stylings of Manchester City and Arsenal, it is increasingly difficult to deny that Liverpool are here, fully formed and approaching their relentless, effervescent peak.
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Liverpool’s win at Bournemouth on Sunday was among their most impressive of the campaign to date. It was an emphatic message to their title rivals and evidence the Reds are gradually gaining total control of matches while retaining their wild and unpredictable edge in the final third.
And best of all was a brace for Darwin Nunez, who showed the killer touch he’s so often lacked in a Liverpool shirt. In his last 16 matches before today, Nunez scored only one goal from an Expected Goals (xG) total of 6.18. At Bournemouth, he had two chances in the penalty area and scored both of them.
If that sparks a run of goalscoring form, and if the brilliant performances of Ibrahima Konate and Alexis Mac Allister continue, then Liverpool WILL win the Premier League title.
The tangled performances of autumn, and the doubts that came with it, are a thing of the past. At Vitality Stadium, “Liverpool 2.0” came of age.
Nunez & Jota tweaks open Bournemouth up
Liverpool’s first Premier League game of the season without Salah up front ended with four goals, but at half-time it looked as though they would miss their talisman.
None of the front three selected looked particularly comfortable.
Nunez seemed stuck out on the left, picking up possession too far from the penalty box and having to take on a defender from a standing start, neutralising his explosive qualities.
Luis Diaz was allowed to drift across from the right to become a No 10, but although he picked up the ball in some interesting pockets, his movement meant Liverpool often looked unbalanced on the right as Harvey Elliott came over to fill the gaps.
In the centre, Diogo Jota was suffocated by the Bournemouth defence, hence why Liverpool failed to take a single shot from inside the box in the first half.
At half-time, Jurgen Klopp moved Nunez into the centre, Diaz to the left and Jota to the right. It was the configuration most people assumed would be in place from the start.
As the “tactical formation” graphs from the first and second halves show, putting creative inside forwards in the wide roles made Liverpool a lot narrower, therefore connecting the forwards together for free-flowing football in the second 45 minutes.
Liverpool average positions first half
Liverpool average positions second half
Indeed, within minutes Jota’s subtle creativity from the right that was sorely missing in the first half saw him slide a pass into the box for Nunez, who, now lurking dangerously in his favourite position, finished superbly with his first shot of the match.
Nunez’s importance through the middle was even clearer for the second goal, as he outmuscled Illia Zabarnyi like a proper old-school No 9 (something no other Liverpool forward could have done), setting up substitute Cody Gakpo to assist Jota’s first goal.
Finally, Liverpool’s fourth was an excellent first-time finish from Nunez, who by that point had terrorised the Bournemouth defenders with his presence, in turn opening up space either side for Jota and Gakpo.
Here was clear evidence that, in Salah’s absence especially, Nunez needs to be deployed down the middle.
“You can ask why I didn’t do it in the first place, that’s a good question!” Klopp said to Sky Sports after the final whistle. “It completely changed the game.”
Jürgen Klopp press conference: 'Bournemouth win was super-deserved'
Konate & Mac Allister help provide control
As Klopp’s “Liverpool 2.0” takes shape, there have inevitably been a few stringy performances this season, in which control has gone out of the window and Liverpool have had to rely on outscoring their opponents in haphazard matches.
Not today. In fact, for quite some time now, Liverpool’s counter-pressing has been very well organised, as Klopp highlighted after the game, pinpointing the goalless draw with Manchester United last month as the start of an excellent sequence of front-foot defending.
This has certainly helped Liverpool dominate, hence five goals in conceded in the last eight matches in all competitions, although at Bournemouth there were two individual performances that defined their stranglehold.
Konate was superb in central defence, not only in controlling Dominic Solanke, limiting the Bournemouth striker to only one shot and eight touches in the Liverpool penalty area, but striding forward confidently in possession.
The centre-back's distribution, not to mention his presence when carrying the ball, ensured Liverpool always kept their hosts at arm's length.
Just as impressive was the returning Mac Allister, who pulled the strings from the base of midfield.
He had 98 touches of the ball, 25 more than the next highest among the game’s midfielders, while also playing the most key passes, with four, and making the most tackles, with nine.
His counter-pressing qualities, defensive anticipation and – most of all – his eye-of-the-needle passing, has transformed Klopp’s Liverpool.
“He is incredibly smart, and as long as you can create a compact formation, [Mac Allister] is an outstanding No 6,” Klopp told Sky Sports after the game. “On the ball, he’s better than all No 6s you can imagine, and against the ball he is really strong.”
Sat in front of Konate and a rejuvenated Virgil van Dijk, Mac Allister forms part of a new spine at Liverpool that is approaching world-class.
It will be the foundation of any title challenge this season. On today’s evidence, Liverpool are ready.