The Reds were stunned at the Vitality Stadium on Sunday evening, as the gave up a 2-goal lead to concede their 2nd defeat of the season in a 4-3 thriller.
Mane and Origi had put the visitors ahead in a comfortable lead heading into the break, but Wilson immediately restored hope for Howe’s side with a goal from the spot after Milner fouled Fraser.
Liverpool quickly restored their 2-goal cushion courtesy of Can’s screamer from the edge of Bournemouth’s box. But with 35 minutes still to play, the hosts pegged back twice in quick succession until the 78th minute.
But even at that, there was still more than just 2 points for Liverpool to lose, as Ake pounced on a loose rebound after Karius’ terrible goalkeeping saw him spill Cook’s shot.
The loss means Liverpool dropped down a place to 3rd position, and are now 4 points behind Chelsea.
Here is how the Reds fared.
Karius
While there could be arguments about if the German should have done better for the 2nd and 3rd goal, the 4th was clearly a fault of his, and he sure cost the Reds a point at least.
Rating : 4/10
Clyne
His performances got worse as the match wore on and the hosts couldn’t stop getting in the crosses via his flank as Liverpool’s defence gradually collapsed.
Rating : 6/10
Lovren
A big reason why the Merseysiders need reinforcements at the back.
Terrible defending from him saw Bournemouth push inside the box for the resultant Milner’s foul in the build-up to the penalty, and he just became a shadow of himself upon Afobe’s introduction.
Rating : 5/10
Lucas
Definitely not the best central back option off the bench with Matip out to an ankle knock.
Despite a great 1st half performance, he finally succumbed to the hosts’ pressure right at the very end of the game.
Rating : 5/10
Milner
Might have done better than not to concede the penalty that all kicked life back into Bournemouth’s attack in the 2nd half.
But did well on the overlap.
Rating : 6/10
Can
A great piece of finish from the Germany international looked to have won it all for Liverpool, while his pass to Mane for the opener was also sublime, but he eventually lost the midfield battle at the end.
Rating : 7/10
Henderson
Spotted Origi well to lay a through ball that gave the Belgian the opportunity to put Liverpool upfront for the 2nd goal but wasn’t able to keep the midfield together in the end.
Rating : 6/10
Wijnaldum
Was poor defensively and could turn back to the bench for the next games after failing to make any sort of meaningful impact in the game.
Rating : 5/10
Mane
Great goal and assist from the Senegalese who seemed to have picked up steam after some below-par performances in the last 2 games.
Did his own part well only to see the midfield and defence fail to own up to their own ends of the deal later on.
Rating : 7/10
Firmino
Had an awfully quiet game as his presence couldn’t be felt both in attack or in terms of defensive contributions.
Rating : 5/10
Origi
Could have easily gotten his brace later on in the game after doing well to put Liverpool further in front with his goal that came about only as a result of great precision.
Rating : 8/10
SUBSTITUTES
Lallana
The intensity of the game was too much for the recovering midfielder to handle, but he came close to scoring only to blast the effort wide.
Rating : 6/10