Bournemouth 0-4 Liverpool – Premier League: Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota both net twice in second-half blitz at the Vitality Stadium

After the four-goal thriller between Bournemouth and Liverpool, Mail Sport’s Lewis Steele is on hand to round up the action… despite the wind’s best efforts!

As confirmed by Mail Sport’s Lewis Steele, Mohamed Salah is expected return to Liverpool for treatment on a hamstring injury sustained during AFCON.

After victory over Bournemouth, Jurgen Klopp’s side have extended their lead at the top of the Premier Leage table to five points.

Manchester City, who have played a game less than their Merseyside rivals, sit second in the standings.

Arsenal, who beat Crystal Palace 5-0 this weekend, are level on points with City, as are Unai Emery’s Aston Villa.

Just below those teams are Tottenham, who will be hoping to sneak into a Champions League spot at the end of the campaign.

Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk put in a stellar peformance during his side’s trip to Bournemouth, yet was still treated to a post-match fright during his interview.

The Netherlands international accidentally had cold water poured on his head by former Reds defender Jamie Carragher, after the game.

Luckily for the pundits, van Dijk saw the funny side to the incident and carried on with the interview.

Jurgen Klopp was furious after Justin Kluivert left Luis Diaz in agony with a studs-up challenge – but faced no consequences.

The Liverpool manager looked angry and in disbelief as remonstrated with an official after the brutal-looking challenge, and Diaz had to temporarily come off.

Kluivert faced no consequences and VAR cleared the challenge – despite co-commentator Alan Smith thinking it was somewhere ‘between a yellow and red’ card.

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The building blocks of any title challenge are set down on filthy midwinter days like these, with the wind swirling and rain slanting down on teams stretched to their limits by injuries and absences but Liverpool refused to be blown off course.

Jurgen Klopp’s team stood up to the challenge in the first half when they struggled to find any sort of rhythm and sailed away with it after the break with two goals each from Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota.

Nunez adores Dorset in a storm. In November, he scored a brilliant winning goal in a Carabao Cup tie at the Vitality Stadium on a night when Storm Ciaran battered the south coast. Here, with Storm Isha approaching, his goal set Liverpool on the way to victory.

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Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said:

‘The second half was much better. The opponent was in a good moment and I actually thought we made a bad start. We gave them momentum unnecessarily. We were not flexible enough, went long when we should have gone short and short when we should have gone long.

‘The left side was completely static. But I told the boys at half-time it was good news. We hadn’t been great but it was still 0-0. We changed formation and all of a sudden we were much more fluent. The support for the front line was much better. We were calm.’

As the stats show, Liverpool were by far the better side on Sunday night and were well-deserving of their 4-0 victory.

The Reds bettered their opponents in possession, shots, shots on taget, big chances created and total passes.

Meanwhile, Iraola’s side had more corner kicks than the Premier League leaders, during a tough evening at the Vitality.

While main man Mohamed Salah is away at AFCON, there had been questions whether Liverpool would cope without his firepower.

Well, after their visit to the Vitality Stadium, you get the feeling that they’ll survive without their Egyptian talisman.

Yes, it may seem like a wild question to ask – given his occasional struggles in-front of goal – but, when you look at the stats, there’s a genuine case to be made.

The forward has bagged 10 goals and 10 assists, from 31 appearances, and sits among some big names when analysing stats.

It’s all over at the Vitality Stadium and it’s Liverpool who leave will all three points after a scintillating second-half display from the Reds.

There was nothing to separate the two sides at the break but the Merseyside giants came out firing and stunned the Cherries to seal the win.

Forwards Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez both grabbed a brace for Jurgen Klopp’s side, who ran riot in the end.

The victory moves Liverpool five points clear at the top of the table, as they continue to make a push for the Premier League title.

Darwin Nunez grabs his second of the game and seals a perfect afternoon from Jurgen Klopp’s side!

The Uruguayan drifts in at the back-post, after a teasing ball from Gomez, and provides a deft finish to get their fourth of the evening.

No matter how much he’s doubted, Nunez never looks bereft of confidence. A truly exciting player to watch.

Bournemouth have the chance to grab a late consolation goal but Brooks fails to capitalise on the opportunity.

The Welsh forward is set through on goal, one-on-one with Alisson, but fails to chip the goalkeeper and just watches his effort sail wide of the goal.

Really poor effort.

As pointed out by Mail Sport’s own Lewis Steele, Liverpool youngster Owen Beck will not be on the move this window after making a cameo against Bournemouth.

As per FIFA rules, players can’t play for more than two clubs in one season and the 21-year-old has already spent a period on loan with Dundee United during the 2023-24 campaign.

Bobby Clark and Owen Beck replace Curtis Jones and Conor Bradley for Liverpool.

Meanwhile, Philip Billing and Kieffer Moore replace Dominic Solanke and Lewis Cook.

Well, just like that, Diogo Jota doubles his tally for the afternoon with a superb strike!

The Portugal international is picked out inside the box and takes a wild swipe at the ball, which spins in place after a poor connection, but he quickly reacts to smash the rebound into the back of the net.

He slipped as he struck it, which makes the finish even more impressive from the forward.

That will count as Bradley’s assist. Big moment for the youngster.

Speaking on Sky Sports, Alan Smith said:

“He’s made one and he’s scored one. Not a bad afternoon’s work for Diogo Jota. It’s not often he disappoints.

“Intelligent play from Gakpo and what a smart finish from Jota. Not a lot to go at but he finds the gap at the near post.”

Massive opportunity for Bournemouth that they fail to take after a brilliant challenge from Liverpool’s Konate.

Cherries full-back Aarons finds himself with space inside the box and tries to lay it off to a team-mate, instead of shooting, but the France defender anticipates it well.

Had he tried his luck from close range, there’s a good chance that he would have made the back of the net ripple.

Diogo Jota smashes the ball into the back of the net to double Liverpool’s advantage and, potentially, wrap up all three points for the visitors.

It’s an emphatic finish from the forward, who was tee’d up with a neat ball from Gakpo, to leave Bournemouth’s Neto scrambling.

It’s his 10th goal of the season and what a time to get it for the Portugal international.

David Brooks replaces Justin Kluivert.

Conor Bradley is shown a yellow card on his full debut after a foul on Alex Scott.

Well, as it stands, Liverpool will move five points clear at the top of the Premier League table.

After a tense first-half, the Reds have been far better than their counter-parts since the break and deserve to be in the lead.

At this point, it’d be rather disappointing to leave with anything less than three points, so you’d imagine they’ll continue to push for a second.

Cody Gakpo and Ryan Gravenberch replace Harvey Elliott and Luis Diaz.

Lewis Cook is shown a yellow card after kicking the ball into Conor Bradley, following a foul.

There was big talk about the Uruguayan pre-match, amid growing pressure of his form in-front of goal, but that didn’t seem to effect him.

The 24-year-old produced a composed finish to notch his 100th career goal – with 24 of those coming since his move to Mersyside.

What a start to the second-half this has been for the Reds! After finding the breakthrough, via Nunez, Klopp’s side have dominated proceedings at the Vitality.

Nunez, this time, swings in a ball which is my bet Bradley but the full-back can’t steer his effort on target.

The hosts need to find a response from somewhere before this gets out of reach for them.

The visitors have the lead and it’s thanks to Darwin Nunez! It’s a cool and composed finish from the Uruguayan to tuck the ball into the back of the net.

It’s a brilliant bit of awareness from Jota to pick out the striker inside the box, who simply had to apply the finish to give Liverpool the lead.

Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola had a brief chat with Sky Sports before the beginning of the second-half, he said:

‘I think there have been spaces, but we have to be really aggressive in the duels and with the seconds [second balls]. There are always spaces to exploit but both teams are defending quite well.

‘With less legs there will be more space. The game is going to open and I hope it’s going to help our side.

‘Liverpool are a strong team in the second half so we hope we start strong.’

We’re back underway!

Even though he’s on loan at Leeds United for the 2023-24 campaign, fans showed their support for Jaidon Anthony following the tragic passing of his mother earlier this week.

As well as the players wearing black armbands, supporters sang out the winger’s name in an act of solidarity for the 24-year-old.

Jurgen Klopp was furious after Justin Kluivert left Luis Diaz in agony with a studs-up challenge – but faced no consequences.

The Liverpool manager looked angry and in disbelief as he spoke with fourth official Graham Scott as Diaz had to temporarily come off.

Kluivert faced no consequences and VAR cleared the challenge – despite co-commentator Alan Smith thinking it was somewhere between a yellow and red card.

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Speaking on Sky Sports, former Reds defender Jamie Carragher said:

“I think Kluivert’s a lucky boy. In those situations, I don’t like to see a red card but the reason Liverpool will be frustrated is because Curtis Jones got sent off for something similar.

“In full speed, it doesn’t look too dangerous but when you slow it down, it’s a shocker. It’s a red card. It’s a nasty challenge. I think they just get to the right decision. When you see it at full speed, there’s not too much there.”

Well, we’ve been starved of any clear-cut chances during the first 45 minutes at the Vitality Stadium but it’s certainly been an intriguing match-up nonetheless.

The hosts, arguably, had the best chance of the half right at the end after Kluivert smashed the ball across the six-yard box, hoping someone could poke home.

The Reds have had chances of their own but, more often than not, have simply been long-range efforts.

Klopp will not be discouraged by his side’s first-half performance, given they’ve dominated possession, but will be hoping to see more from the Reds after the break.

Kluivert flashes the ball across the six-yard box but there’s no one in black and red to tap it home.

Christie and Solanke were both awaiting at the near-post but neither are able to make contact and can only watch is fly across the box.

Agonisingly close for Iraola’s side.

Mail Sport’s own Lewis Steele is at the Vitality Stadium this afternoon and claims that there’s ‘an awful lot of head-shaking going on’ from the Liverpool dugout.

The Reds boss looked visibly upset that nothing came from the strong challenge on Diaz by Bournemouth’s Kluivert.

Speaking on Sky Sports, Alan Smith said:

“Tavernier has been the danger man for Bournemouth. The man looking most likely to cause Liverpool problems.”

Some neat play from the Cherries sees them work their way out of their own half nicely and it culminates in a long-range effort from Christie.

Luckily, for the Reds, Alisson had a good view of it the entire time and was able to easily keep hold of the strike.

Ouch. The Colombian winger is left in a heap on the ground after a late challenge from Bournemouth’s Kluivert.

It’s one of those that, in the moment, you don’t really bat an eyelid but, once slowed down, it does look quite bad. Interesting to see what VAR think of this one…

The hosts are wearing black armband’s this afternoon following the untimely passing of Jaidon Anthony’s mother, Donna, earlier this week.

The debutant swings in a teasing cross into the box towards Konate and Nunez, though neither are able to get a touch on it and it goes out for a corner.

Van Dijk meets the set-piece but can’t get his effort on target before Bournemouth manage to clear their lines.

Chance for Liverpool’s Nunez as he fires a long-range effort at goal, but it’s held easily by Bournemouth’s Neto.

Klopp’s side are doing well in pressing their oppositon high up the pitch and it’s making it difficult for the Cherries to play out.

You get the feeling that, if they keep up their pressure, that the Reds may find a breakthrough shortly.

Jurgen Klopp’s side are gaining confidence as every minute ticks by and have just watched an effort fly wide of the goal, after a long-range attempt from Joe Gomez.

The defender looked to whip one into the far corner before watching it sail wide of the goal and hearing the home fans cheer, ironically.

Andoni Iraola will be pleased with the start his side have made this afternoon, despite the fact that Liverpool are slowly growing into this one.

The Cherries have seen a lot of the ball but are yet to create any clear-cut opportunities at the Vitality Stadium.

The hosts get us underway at the Vitality, driving forward and winning a corner within the first minute.

A well-worked move ensues and forces Konate to half Bournemouth’s momentum and concede another corner.

The players are in the tunnel and kick-off is now only moments away…

Can Liverpool extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table or will Bournemouth bring their momentum to a grinding halt?

Stay right here as we’ll keep you updated with all the action at the Vitality Stadium with kick-off at 4:30.

Only Mo Salah has scored more Premier League goals than Darwin Nunez this season, but the former Benfica striker remains frustratingly unpredictable in front of goal at times.

Speaking before this afternoon’s game, Jamie Redknapp said he didn’t think the Uruguayan would become a clinical finisher, but added he possesses a ‘chaos factor’ that makes him invaluable in Jurgen Klopp’s side:

I don’t think that Darwin’s ever going to be a clinical finisher. I don’t think anybody but what he has walked to Liverpool is that maybe a chaos factor, which I like. I like players sometimes that do things differently, that run and chase him beyond ease. It must be a nightmare to play against. In I’m sure he frustrates people. I’m sure he frustrates his manager at times, but what you know you’re gonna get out of him is 100%

The crowd adore him. He’s so infectious. And you know, at times, he’s going to rattle one in the top corner like he did here a few years ago, and he might miss your open goal. But you know what, I’m sure Jurgen Klopp will take that.

I expect us to be spot-on to be honest. And then we will see if we are. But we have to be because Bournemouth is really good, well organised and in a very good moment and have had a similar break that we had.

We’re missing a few players, they’re missing a few players. We were here a few months ago so it’s all special and it’s a difficult game.But I’m looking forward to it anyway when you talk about all these things and talk about the table, it always sounds like “how can we stay there?” And stuff like this. We just want to win football games. That’s the only thing I know to stay somehow in that area and that’s what we’ll try today.’

… but just what does the academy graduate have in store for him in the coming years at Anfield?

Lewis Steele looks ahead at how the 25-year-old can continue to build his legacy to put himself among the great leaders of his hometown club.

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So, from the starting XI, it looks as though Diaz will be playing on the right wing for Liverpool. The other alternative is that Nunez will play down the middle and Jota will go out on the right… but I can’t see that happening as Nunez has found his form on the left.

Conor Bradley will also be making his first Premier League start this evening as he steps into the right-back role and deputise for Trent Alexander-Arnold, who is still recovery from his knee injury.

Liverpool: Alisson, Bradley, Konate, van Dijk, Gomez, Elliott, Mac Allister, Jones, Nunez, Jota, Diaz.

Subs: Adrian, Gakpo, Gravenberch, Clark, Gordon, McConnell, Kelleher, Beck, Quansah.

Bournemouth: Neto, Aarons, Zabarnyi, Mepham, Hill, Cook, Christie, Sinisterra, Kluivert, Tavernier, Solanke.

Subs: Kelly, Brooks, Marcondes, Scott, Moore, Kilkenny, Billing, Travers, Greenwood.

It’s safe to say Liverpool are on form at the moment. Their solitary defeat in 20 league matches this season came against Tottenham on 30 September when they were reduced to nine men.

Liverpool have also shown they are capable of coming from behind. They have trailed in 10 Premier League games this campaign but have won an unrivalled 19 points from losing positions.

Liverpool will be eager to pick up all three points this afternoon as it will put them five points clear at the top of the Premier League table.

Additiobally, a sixth away league win of the season would match Liverpool’s tally for the whole of 2022-2023 campaign.

I’m quite happy with the two games we played against Liverpool, especially the second one in the Carabao Cup. But even then we were not even able to tie the game.

We have to be at our best because they are at the top of the league and the most in-form team. If we want to beat them it’s not enough to be at our level, we have to be really good because it takes a lot to win these games.

Mo Salah will not be featuring for Liverpool this evening. He has been away representing Egypt at the African Cup of Nations. During that time, he has also managed to pick up a hamstring injury!

But, that’s not what we are getting at here. We have been looking at how Liverpool fare without him. And… it seems they cope pretty well actually!

Liverpool are unbeaten in their 10 Premier League games without him since he joined the club (W7, D3), winning the last four in a row.

Dominic Solanke could become the first Bournemouth player to score in four consecutive home appearances in the Premier League. However, he’s only managed one goal in 21 top-flight outings against Liverpool.

Bournemouth have lost eight of their last nine league meetings with Liverpool. The only exception was their 1-0 win in last season’s corresponding fixture.

But, that was unusual! That result was one of only two victories by the Cherries in their 21 matches against Liverpool. Their other triumph over the Red came at home in December 2016.

Friday was the third session since we are back and you could see it was really important to everybody, for everybody As much as they like going on holiday, the thing they like most is actually playing football and that’s really cool to see.

Nobody wanted to have three or four weeks, we are in the middle of a season (and) we love what happened so far. We are looking forward to what’s coming up, but these four days were just top class. We had a break and now we can go for the rest of the season.

Hello and welcome to Mail Sport’s LIVE coverage of this afternoon’s Premier League clash between Bournemouth and Liverpool.

Jurgen Klopp’s side can move five points clear with another win, but the Cherries will be looking to deny the visitors.

Kick-off will be at 4.30pm but we’ll be bringing you all the build-up and team news before that so make sure you stay tuned.