Normally the league is the focal point for both players and fans. This week's league game was almost a bit of a hangover. The Reds poured so much energy and emotion into their comeback win in the Europa League over Borussia Dortmund that AFC Bournemouth was almost an afterthought.
Liverpool made all the changes they could really. Roberto Firmino, who was a surprise starter on Thursday anyway, was the only holdover. Daniel Sturridge, Lucas, Joe Allen and Kolo Toure were the only first team players to begin the game as well as Firmino. It was a very different look but things got off to a decent start.
Both teams ping ponged up and down the field. Sturridge almost made Bournemouth pay in the second minute. The defender's backpass was deflected and ended up right with Sturridge who got a powerful shot off but right at the keeper.
Liverpool's next good chance wouldn't come until the 25th minute. Sheyi Ojo showed some brilliance on the wing and wiggled his way into the box, past two defenders but his shot was met with a third defender's face. Connor Randall's followup then blasted a fourth defender in the gut.
Then the Reds struck paydirt in the 41st minute. Ojo began the play by taking it in the middle of the park. He then slid a good ball left to Jordan Ibe. Ibe did his best Raheem Sterling impression but instead of giving it away he made a good pass to Sturridge. The striker tried a nifty backheel shot which was smartly saved by the keeper but Firmino was Mr. Clean with hair by mopping up.
It wouldn't take nearly as long for the next one to come. Ibe took a free kick in the third minute of stoppage time and served it perfectly for Sturridge who headed it past the goalkeeper from about 10 yards out.
The game settled down for much of the second half and the scoreline remained the same for a long period. Bournemouth kept fighting though, showing why they deserved to stay up and are all but assured of staying in the Premier League for a second season. They picked up the pace and kept challenging goal when the clock was in the 60's. So much was their push that Danny Ward was forced to make a top notch save to keep the 0 on the board in the 68th minute.
Ward made another save later on, stopping a header with a lunging stop to his left and then Sturridge almost made it 3-0 in the 82nd minute. The English striker absolutely blasted one but it struck the bar and came out.
Unfortunately the Liverpool backline couldn't see out the scoreline. In the 93rd minute, Lucas got outpowered to the ball and then Joshua King manged to take it off the chest and rip it home from about 17 yards. Bournemouth almost found the equalizer about 30 seconds later, but Ward and the Reds were fortunate to see the header sail over the bar.
The final whistle came soon thereafter and Liverpool capped off a fine week. They got three wins in 8 days. If they could have kept the scoreline 2-0, they would have jumped up to 7th in the league, but remain in 8th due to goal differential.
In typical Liverpool fashion they turned a very dull second half into something exciting. Unfortunately for us fans, or those with heart conditions, Liverpool were almost on the wrong side of it this time. All the shuffling of lineups and players can be somewhat of an excuse but the defending still leaves much to be desired in big moments.
Nevertheless, it was a good performance from an incredibly young and inexperienced side. It was exactly the type of match to try this experimental lineup and it paid dividends even though the big boys were still the ones to do the scoring. Liverpool can now go into the Merseyside Derby fresh and full of confidence.
Random Thoughts
- I'm not the guy's biggest fan, but how far has Martin Skrtel fallen that Lucas gets the start at centerback? Lucas has done a good job filling in at that position, but unless he never truly recovered from his injury it seems odd that Skrtel can't even get time in a B side.
- Far be it from me to be the fashion police, but Danny Ward no....no. That is not a hair style. He could wake up, go straight to the pitch from his bed and I don't think his hair would look that bad.
- These games are exactly why I am not a scout. I've been impressed by Ibe in the past and now see great potential in someone like Ojo. However there is a reason they haven't seen many first team minutes and my eye for talent is probably tainted by a few flashy moves in matches when I don't get to see all the training.
- I'm almost a little scared entering the Derby simply because Liverpool have shown a propensity for letdowns in this season. They've played well for too many games in a row to be fully comfortable, but should still win unless there's a collapse.
Walk On
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