With two goals apiece from Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota, Premier League leaders Liverpool thrashed Bournemouth 4-0 to take a five-point lead atop the standings.
Because top scorer Mohamed Salah was not playing at the Vitality Stadium, Jurgen Klopp’s Reds first found it difficult to generate opportunities.
But after Jota’s rapid-fire double early in the second half, Nunez broke the tie and finished the scoring in extra time.
Liverpool took full advantage of Manchester City’s weekend off to extend their league unbeaten streak to 14 games with a victory on a soggy afternoon on the south coast.
During a fast-paced match, Bournemouth, who was in form, was competitive for a significant portion of it but never really threatened, losing only twice in nine games.
It could have been worse for Andoni Iraola’s team, as Justin Kluivert was lucky to avoid a red card after challenging Luis Diaz in the first half.
For the first time this season, Liverpool was back in the top flight after missing out on action on New Year’s Day. However, they were without star player Mohamed Salah, who suffered a hamstring injury while playing for Egypt in the Africa Cup of Nations.
While Bournemouth started the game brighter, the Reds were unable to find their rhythm and failed to test Alisson.
After they settled into the game, Klopp’s team saw some significant territory.
Before long-range attempts from Nunez and Diaz were easily collected by Cherries goalkeeper Neto, Alexis Mac Allister missed a long-range shot.
After three weeks without a league match, Bournemouth also exhaled with relief when Kluivert saved himself from a red card in the 35th minute by catching Diaz with a high, studs-up tackle.
The 39th minute saw Ryan Christie finally register the team’s first shot on goal, a feeble effort that went straight at Alisson. Shortly before halftime, Christie was unable to convert Kluivert’s dangerous low center.
After an uneventful first half that lacked clear opportunities, Liverpool took advantage of careless defending to take the lead four minutes into the second half.
Curtis Jones, who was not marked, chested down Ibrahima Konate’s cross-field pass, which went to Jota, whose initial pass was neatly placed by Nunez into the bottom right corner.
Nunez, who boasted to the home crowd during the first half and was unfairly compared to former Liverpool striker Andy Carroll, also contributed to his team’s second goal in the 70th minute.
The strong Uruguayan striker troubled Chris Mepham, the defender for Bournemouth, which gave Reds substitute Cody Gakpo the opportunity to seize the opportunity and slip in Jota, who found the back of the right post to score.
Nine minutes later Jota had dashed any hopes of a Cherries comeback.
After receiving a pass from Conor Bradley, a Premier League rookie, the Portugal forward mishandled his first attempt, but he quickly muffled jeers by firing into the bottom left corner.
In the ninetieth minute, Cherries substitute David Brooks missed a fantastic opportunity to get a consolation goal when he dinked wide.
And three minutes into extra time, Nunez—who had earlier won the match between the two teams in the Carabao Cup fourth round at the beginning of November—rubbed salt in Bournemouth’s wounds by scoring his second with a skillful close-range finish.
