With Champions League advancement dominating the week, Liverpool refocused on the league and ensured that Bournemouth received an inhospitable visit to Merseyside. The Reds retained their rhythm and relentlessness dispatching the Cherries 3-0 at Anfield.
There was no relaxation with the Reds still needing to secure their top four credentials, despite the European semi-final that awaits just 10 days away. Bournemouth has been a bit of a bogey team in recent years but no one would have known. Liverpool dominated from the start and made it count.
An early goal from Sadio Mané made sure that Bournemouth knew what kind of afternoon it would be. For the seventh time this season all three front men scored as the Reds ran rampant.
After the break, Mo Salah would garner his 40th finish of the campaign. Even on a day when he may not have been at his finest, the Egyptian looped a header home. It was his 30th in the league and he looks all but certain to land the golden boot in what has to be the greatest debut season by some distance. He continues to put himself in rare company. He joins only Liverpool legend Roger Hunt and Ian Rush as the only Reds to eclipse 40. Plus, he is the first Premier League player to reach 40 goals in all competitions in 10 years.
To add to the festivities Roberto Firmino finished one in the dying minutes his 15th in the league and 25th in all competitions. The Brazilian’s brilliant season has only been overshadowed by his wingman on the right. Best of all, this goal recommenced the kung-fu kick celebrations.
Here are four findings from the match.
Sustaining strength
It would have been reasonable for Jurgen Klopp to rotate the squad and give some squad players a chance. Yet, the gaffer followed strength with strength with the top four still in the balance.
With a week to recover before the next match, Klopp put the throttle down at home and ensured another three points.
After rotating more routinely in the early months of the season, the German learned from last year. Of course, there are risks anytime a player takes to the pitch but the boss has the side in rhythm when it counts most, the business end of the season. Next week’s trip to West Brom should serve as another preparation for Roma.
Multifaceted Mané
Last year’s star, Sadio Mané, began the season in form and firing. Then the red card against Manchester City and an injury on international duty saw the Senegalese struggle.
As Mo Salah soared, the shadow of that strained form may have seemed to linger longer than actually existed. Mané quietly has climbed back to the eights of last season.
Of all the front three, Mané remains the most versatile, able to play as effectively across all three positions. The fact that he shifted from the right side to the left to accommodate Salah proved a potent ploy. Yet, he is equally comfortable dropping deeper and turning playmaker or running through the middle as a striker. In fact, his seventh-minute goal came from streaking through the centre like a striker and cleaning up his own rebound.
Tantalising Trent
The last month has seen Trent Alexander-Arnold rise from his hardest performance to the heights of multiple Man of the Match performances.
The 19-year-old has matured far beyond expectations overcoming defensive questions from earlier in the season. Now, he consistently provides the side with a threat from fullback that the club has not seen in years.
For months now, Alexander-Arnold has shown how effectively he can whip a cross into the area.
In recent weeks, his rapport with Salah has grown so strong that the youngster bypasses the midfield altogether. He now predictably puts the talisman through with vertical passes carving defences wide open. His delicious deep cross, over-the-top to assist Salah’s goal shows how hard it will be to keep the Scouser out of the side going forward.
Armory Anfield
Since Klopp took charge of the club, Liverpool have slowly regained the kind of home form supporters have long hoped could be recovered.
In recent years, the Reds failed to rouse fear in visiting sides. For too long opponents could arrive on Merseyside and patiently wait for flaws in the Reds to reveal a chance to steal points. Now, the Reds no longer can be questioned at Anfield.
This was Liverpool’s 17th victory out 26 matches at home. The Reds have not lost at Anfield in the league and only lost one match at home the entire campaign.
Klopp made a point of preventing players from patting the famous “This is Anfield’ sign until they earned it. It may not be long now before players return to giving the symbol of the ground as a fortress a gentler slap again.