After the high of beating Manchester United 7-0 at Anfield, came the low of losing 1-0 to rock-bottom Bournemouth for Liverpool.
Philip Billing's first-half strike proved to be the difference between the teams on Saturday afternoon, although Mohamed Salah had the chance to level the scores with a penalty kick he fired wide of the goal.
This performance embodied the stop-start nature of the Reds' season, which has been filled with false dawns and reality checks. Making the top four is still a possible outcome, but Liverpool must begin to fix their away form to secure a Champions League spot.
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Sharing their assessment of where things went wrong on the south coast were the national media, along with our own Paul Gorst, whose thoughts on proceedings can be found below.
'Here was another shapeless performance'
John Brewin of the Guardian wrote:
"What had seemed a fait accompli, Liverpool rescuing a disappointing season with a top-four place, can no longer be considered certain. Jürgen Klopp’s team have become a combination of high-end brilliance and low-end mediocrity, often comically awful to watch, way too unreliable to be counted on. Here was another shapeless performance in which heavy-metal thunder was too easily quietened.
"For Liverpool fans hoping that the defenestration of United would signpost the path to further glory, there were portents from history to consider. Last time Liverpool won 7-0 in the Premier League, in December 2020, they drew 1-1 with West Brom in the following game. As seems set to become the case this season – a comeback on Wednesday against Real Madrid pending – targets for that campaign were reduced to finishing in the top four. Such is Liverpool’s unpredictability that a glorious comeback in the Bernabéu cannot be ruled out, though it will not be achieved by playing like this."
'A deeper frailty'
Tom Prentki of the Telegraph wrote:
"This defeat at Bournemouth mean’s Klopp’s side have taken just 12 points from 13 away league games this season - the same number as Southampton and Leicester - so for all the short-term schadenfreude, for all the confidence they could overhaul an ailing Tottenham side to finish fourth place, this was a stark wake-up call.
"Last Sunday against United looked like “heavy metal football” had returned and that Klopp was getting the band back together, but after beating Bournemouth 9-0 in the reverse fixture at Anfield, there was to be no encore at The Vitality Stadium. This is Liverpool's worst points haul away from home since the 2010-11 season when they finished sixth.
"Things might have been different had Mohamed Salah not blasted Liverpool’s first penalty kick of the season into the stands midway through the second half. But the trajectory of this match suggests a deeper frailty to a Liverpool side that in recent seasons has seemed to exude confidence."
'Hapless aim at a coconut shy'
Dominic King of the Daily Mail wrote:
"Mohamed Salah hopped, skipped and began to scuttle on his way. It had been almost a year since a Liverpool player had the chance to perform such a routine with the stakes so high.
"Liverpool had not been awarded a penalty in the Premier League since April 2, 2022 but in the 68th minute of this vital fixture at the Vitality Stadium, the wait came to an end.
"Who better than Salah, fresh from creating club history, to take responsibility with his team trailing? Some may put what followed down to a lack of practice down but the Egyptian’s grimace and furious headshaking told its own story.
"Salah, the man who rarely fluffs his lines, blazed wide from 12 yards, a shot so erratic it made you think of someone blindfolded taking hapless aim at a coconut shy. It would turn out to be a miss with huge ramifications."
'Scratching their heads'
Paul Rowan of the Times wrote:
"Everything Liverpool tried last week against Manchester United came off. This time nothing did, including a second-half penalty by Mohamed Salah which would have cancelled out the opener by Philip Billing in the first half but flew a good yard wide instead.
"Bournemouth were both battling and brilliant as they held out and threatened Liverpool on a couple of occasions to lift themselves off the floor of the Premier League and throw the relegation fight even more wide open. As for Liverpool, their fans were left scratching their heads at this latest downturn in this frustrating season which will probably finish without even a top-four place."
'Expectations are not high'
Paul Gorst of the ECHO wrote:
"Bournemouth, a team dispatched 9-0 at Anfield in August, looked set to comfortably withstand their visitors’ efforts right into next week. How was it this easy for the relegation-threatened Cherries?
"So Liverpool head to one of the cathedrals of world football next needing to do the impossible as they aim to turn around their 5-2 deficit against the current champions of Europe. Having failed to have completed the very possible here in their tune-up, it’s fair to suggest that expectations are not high."
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