Liverpool equalled the biggest victory in Premier League history by defeating Bournemouth at Anfield 9-0
Liverpool equaled the Premier League’s largest win in history with a hammering of newly promoted Bournemouth at Anfield on the first day of the season.
This is a game we saw in which Liverpool scored as many goals as nine without Salah scoring a single goal or getting an assist.
Klopp labelled his team’s start to the season as a “false start” following two draws and Monday night’s defeat at Manchester United, but the Reds reacted spectacularly.
Manchester United has won by this margin twice, once against Ipswich in 1995 and once against Southampton last year, while Leicester City accomplished the same against the Saints in 2019.
Liverpool got off to a flying start against the Cherries, scoring two goals in the first five minutes to send a noisy Anfield into a frenzy.
Luis Diaz rose to firmly head home, and Harvey Elliott curled in his first goal in the Premier League with a stunning drive from outside the area.
Trent Alexander sent a long-range shot into the top corner, with Firmino assisting on all three goals.
On the half-hour mark, the Brazilian striker acrobatically converted from inside the six-yard box, and Virgil van Dijk headed in the fifth from a corner – all before half-time.
Scott Parker’s men’s woes worsened in the opening minute of the second half as Chris Mepham strained to divert the ball into his own net and Firmino tucked home the seventh of the day following a lucky deflection.
Summer commitment With eight minutes remaining, Fabio Carvalho volleyed in number eight, and Diaz headed in the ninth to clinch an unbelievable, historic victory.
After defeating Aston Villa in their first game, Bournemouth suffered their third consecutive league defeat without scoring.
It had been said that Liverpool had been sluggish – and that they were missing striker Sadio Mane, who is currently at Bayern Munich – after failing to win any of their first three games.
Draws against Fulham and Crystal Palace, followed by a slow performance in the 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford earlier this week, raised concerns about the title credentials of a Reds team that finished last season with low points in both the league and the Champions League.
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An long injury list, particularly in midfield, and the suspension of significant summer recruit Darwin Nunez did not help, but Liverpool answered the critics with a spectacular performance that the visitors could not match.
The Reds had 19 shots on goal, 12 of which were on target, with a record-tying nine of them finding the back of the net. It was the first time they had scored as many goals since 1989, when they beat Crystal Palace in the old First Division.
Klopp’s team had allowed the opening goal in six of their previous seven Premier League games, but Diaz put them ahead after only two minutes with a stunning header.
The goal will have alleviated some of the stress for a worried audience given the team’s slow start to the season.
Elliott, a teenager, has played in all four league games this season, starting with a wonderful curling attempt into the bottom corner before Alexander-Arnold hammered into the corner from beyond the box.
Firmino snapped a 20-game goal drought at Anfield with an opportunistic finish, while Van Dijk recovered from a tough game against Manchester United by heading in the fifth.
Chris Mepham’s own goal, Firmino’s second goal, and Carvalho’s first goal for the club completed a flawless afternoon for the Reds, who only missed out on the Premier League’s largest win.
Liverpool should have scored twice in a one-sided contest as Mohamed Salah had a rare off day in a game in which his teammates were merciless.
Egypt’s attacker missed an open net from a few yards out, had a shot pushed over by Mark Travers, and then blazed over from close range. Andrew Robertson, a left-back, also headed over from close range.
The resounding victory extended Liverpool’s dominance over newly promoted clubs, as they have now lost only one of 34 matches against recently promoted teams.
Bournemouth had a happy first weekend back in the Premier League when they defeated Aston Villa, but it proved to be a false dawn, and the rest of August has been awful.
The south coast club were thrashed 4-0 by champions Manchester City, 3-0 at home to Arsenal, and completely capitulated after surrendering twice in the first five minutes at Anfield.
Parker’s men have surrendered the most goals in the Premier League this season (16) while scoring only twice.
Their 21 shots in the first four games are the second fewest since Sunderland had 20 in 2012-13.
Alisson enjoyed a relaxing afternoon in the Merseyside heat, only being stretched once whole game, to scoop a weak Kieffer Moore header out of the air.
