How Mo Salah can move to second in Liverpool’s record books – but it won’t be for long

August 27, 2022
Joanna Durkan

Liverpool are in desperate need of three points and their history against Bournemouth makes for good reading, as does Mohamed Salah‘s record against the Cherries.

Salah has scored twice as many goals against Bournemouth (eight) as any other player in Liverpool history. Those goals have come in just six appearances.

He is one goal short of becoming Liverpool’s outright second highest Premier League goalscorer. He currently has 120 goals. Robbie Fowler has scored the most – 128.

The Egyptian is the only player to score a league hat-trick against Bournemouth, doing so in 4-0 victory on the south coast in December 2018. Harry Chambers in the FA Cup in 1927 is the only other Reds player to achieve the feat.

Here’s the confidence boost you ordered

Liverpool have won the last six home and away clashes, scoring 19 times while conceding once.

The Reds have completed four league doubles over Bournemouth in the last five seasons.

And Liverpool have scored in all but one of the 17 previous encounters – a goalless FA Cup draw in January 1968 being the only occasion they have drawn a blank.

The last meeting was the Reds’ final league game in front of a full house in their 2019-20 title-winning season before the pandemic hit.

Wanted and unwanted records

The Reds are three goals short of recording 800 in all games under Jurgen Klopp.

Liverpool have scored in every league game at Anfield since failing to register a goal against Fulham in March 2021, and with fans in the ground, Manchester City were the last visiting side to keep a clean sheet, doing so in October 2018.

They last suffered a second successive league defeat in front of fans back in September 2015 – at Manchester United. They have never lost two in a row in a top-flight match under Jurgen Klopp.

And since World War 1, only five times have the Reds not won any of their opening three league games of a campaign – 1962/63, 1997/98, 2003/04, 2012/13 and this season – only once (in 2012/13) has that run extended beyond three games (a run of five without victory).

Will we see a familiar face?

Dominic Solanke joined from Liverpool in January 2019 for a fee of £19 million. He scored 30 last season, with 29 coming in the league.

Solanke’s next goal will be his 50th for Bournemouth in all competitions.

In his Reds career, he scored once in 21 league outings (27 in all competitions).

Mixed Cherries

Scott Parker was appointed as Bournemouth manager in June 2021 and this will be his 50th league game in charge.

He has been promoted to or relegated from the Premier League in each of his last three seasons as a manager, having been both promoted and relegated while with Fulham.

Parker has managed against Liverpool on three occasions. He has won, drawn and lost and conceded only three times in that trio of fixtures.

They have faced Manchester City and Arsenal in their last two league games, conceding seven goals.