Liverpool needed a win this Sunday when Eddie Howe’s Bournemouth hosted them, as they knew Antonio Conte’s Chelsea had defeated Manchester City and they couldn’t let them get away on the run for the first spot in the Premier League.
So, Jurgen Klopp and his team were set to face the Cherries without Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho, but the absence they felt the most was Joel Matip’s, as the German defender couldn’t suit up and they had to go with Lucas Leiva instead.
Liverpool was in control of the game for most of the time, as they quickly scored a couple of goals and were completely locked down on defence, but in the final 15 minutes of the match, Howe’s team put together an outstanding comeback, netting 3 goals in 14 minutes and taking all 3 points at home.
So, let’s take a look at 5 pictures that totally sum up one of the most exciting matches of the season so far.
Mane is the man for Klopp
Mane puts Liverpool ahead in the 20th minute after an outstanding assist from Emre Can, getting past Nathan Ake and sending the ball to the bottom of the nets. It was all Liverpool so far, and it looked like this was going to be another easy win for Jurgen Klopp’s side, owning the ball as much as 65% of the time through this first 20 minutes.
Origi did it again
The Belgian striker scored a brilliant goal a couple of minutes after Mane opens the scoreboard after a beautiful assist from Jordan Henderson let Boruc make a terrible mistake trying to intercept that ball.
This one was another stunning score from the youngster, as he had no angle to make the score but found a way to send it to the bottom of the net anyways. At this point, it looked like this one was on the books already.
Can continues his scoring form
After a penalty score from Calum Wilson at the 56th, Can scored one of the most beautiful goals of the season after a great pass from Sadio Mane, and Can curled his shot in an outstanding manner and took his team’s lead back to a couple of scores.
Jurgen Klopp’s side was still in control of the match and Can had earned himself a spot in the highlights of the season without any kind of doubt.
Cook ties the game
After Fraser scored a stunner in the 76th minute, Liverpool completely faded away, especially on defence, where Lucas Leiva looked completely awful during the last minutes of the game and making the absence of Matip very notorious.
Just 3 minutes later, Cook equalised the game after a great pass from Jack Wilshere, taking control of the ball and turning around to leave Loris Karius astonished.
Cherries take the lead
Nathan Ake makes a fool out of Loris Karius and sends the ball to the bottom of the nets. This subpar performance wasn’t just a big blow to Liverpool’s title chances, but also reopened the debate of the starting goalkeeper spot for the Reds.
At the end of the day, Jurgen Klopp’s side takes their second defeat of the season in all competitions, after failing to defeat Burnley in the second week of the season, and this loss against mediocre sides are the ones they will wind up regretting at the end of the season.