Stop Mohamed Salah and you stop Liverpool? Not exactly. Bournemouth left Anfield having prevented the Egyptian from scoring or creating a goal. Their problem was that they also departed defeated by a record margin. Liverpool equalled the biggest ever Premier League win, set twice by Manchester United and once by Leicester, and their own biggest league victory, the famous 9-0 against Crystal Palace and a 10-1 demolition of Rotherham Town in 1896.
If there was an oddity that Jurgen Klopp’s 21st-century side mustered nine goals without their main marksman finding the net, the banned Darwin Nunez had further reasons to rue his absence. Even as Salah missed, others capitalised on Bournemouth’s abject failings. They took the opportunity to run riot.
