Ten-man Liverpool showed great heart to beat Bournemouth 3-1 on Saturday, with Dominik Szoboszlai superb on his Anfield debut.
Liverpool 3-1 Bournemouth
Premier League (2), Anfield
August 19, 2023
Goals: Diaz 27′, Salah 36′, Jota 62′; Semenyo 3′
Red card: Mac Allister 58′
Alisson (out of 10) – 8
After a typically strong showing against Chelsea, this was another influential outing from Alisson.
His blushes were spared after rushing out in the first minute, with Bournemouth‘s goal disallowed, and a careless loss of possession cost him a yellow card for a subsequent foul, but he so important from then on.
The Brazilian made two crucial stops late on, preventing a horrible finale, and his importance to this side remains unrivalled.
Trent Alexander-Arnold – 7
In many ways, Alexander-Arnold’s display typified Liverpool as a team, with a really slow start improved upon greatly over time.
Liverpool’s new vice-captain’s heavy touch in midfield ultimately led to Antoine Semenyo opening the scoring, and he looked ruffled for a while after that.
His quality on the ball eventually came to the fore, however, and his presence grew and grew, forcing Neto into one save before half-time.
Ibrahima Konate – 8
Konate is now Virgil van Dijk‘s undisputed first-choice centre-back partner and this was an excellent performance from him.
During a terrible start by the Reds, the Frenchman was fairly blameless, and he stuck to his defensive duties well up against Dominic Solanke.
Made some key interceptions when Liverpool were down to 10 men.
Virgil van Dijk – 7
On his first home game as Liverpool captain, Van Dijk was largely good, going about his business in generally impressive fashion.
He wasn’t necessarily great for Semenyo’s goal, allowing the shot to fly through him, but that may be ultra-critical.
Otherwise, he won aerial duels, mopped up the danger and got better as the game went on.
Andy Robertson – 7
Robertson’s form has been patchy since Jurgen Klopp changed Liverpool’s system, as he continues to adjust to a new role.
The Scot put in a really weak tackle on Semenyo before he scored, but from then on, he roused the troops and had Anfield singing his name at one point.
He was tidy on the ball and defended much better than he has at times in the last six month or so.
Alexis Mac Allister – 7
Mac Allister was again used as the No. 6 at Anfield, and while he was generally solid, it proved to be a devastating day for him on a personal level.
A few losses of possession were unlike the Argentine, but he kept the ball ticking over on the whole, and he showed good positional sense.
Sent off in extremely harsh fashion in the second half – football’s gone mad!
Dominik Szoboszlai – 9 (Man of the Match)
After a promising competitive debut for Liverpool at Chelsea, Szoboszlai was magnificent at Anfield, looking a cut above the rest.
Not only was the Hungarian a class act in possession, using the ball cleverly and dribbling with purpose, but he worked hard, too, tracking back to help Alexander-Arnold a number of times.
Looks like a great signing – Anfield has a new hero.
Cody Gakpo – 7
Gakpo remained in the No. 8 position he took up last weekend, and much like Mac Allister, it is obvious that he is more of a force in a different role.
The Dutchman produced one lovely pirouette that drew gasps from the Liverpool fans, and although he was easy on the eye, a little more influence would have been nicer.
The positives outweighed the negatives, though.
Mohamed Salah – 7
Much was made of Salah’s strop after being substituted at Stamford Bridge, but it was overblown and this was a chance for him to focus on football again.
He couldn’t get into game at all in the opening 20 minutes or so, but he scored from the rebound after his penalty was saved, going ahead of Steven Gerrard in the scoring charts.
A threat after the break, being denied by Neto, but is it time to take Salah off penalties?
Luis Diaz – 7
Diaz has been criticised for an apparent lack of elite end product in the final third, but he is silencing the doubters so far this season.
Like so many, the Colombian was quiet to begin, losing the ball once that led to groans, but he finish brilliantly to make it 1-1 and ease the nerves.
Otherwise, Diaz wasn’t at his sparkling best, but he still made a big contribution.
Diogo Jota – 6
Jota was well short of his best in his last outing away to Chelsea, and in truth, he was unconvincing again on Saturday afternoon.
The Portuguese’s touch was like a trampoline at times and too many passes went astray, but he did play a positive role in Diaz’s goal, cutting the ball back.
He then tapped home just after Mac Allister’s red card, which was a crucial moment, showing that he can have an impact even when not at his best.
Substitutes
Wataru Endo (on for Gakpo, 63′) – 7
Brought on for his debut in tricky circumstances, but handled the occasion well.
Joe Gomez (on for Alexander-Arnold, 76′) – 6
Did a reliable job when Liverpool had a man less.
Harvey Elliott (on for Jota, 76′) – 5
Lost the ball in a bad area twice, otherwise fairly quiet.
Darwin Nunez (on for Diaz, 86′) – 6
Worked hard, but no time to make a big impact.
Kostas Tsimikas (on for Salah, 86′) – 6
Nothing to say really!
Subs not used: Kelleher, Matip, Bajcetic, Doak
Jurgen Klopp – 8
After a hit-and-miss performance from his side in their opening game, Klopp will have been wanting more from Liverpool against Bournemouth.
It was a woeful start by the Reds, who were all over the place, but the display was so much from 25 minutes onwards and the manager was rewarded so going with the same starting XI.
Klopp deserves particular credit for the way Liverpool handle having one man less, and he will be delighted with his players.
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