Liverpool maintained their unbeaten start to the Premier League season with a 1-0 win at AFC Bournemouth on Sunday afternoon.
The Reds head into the international break with three valuable points after Alexander Isak’s second-half goal secured a hard-fought victory at the Vitality Stadium.
It certainly wasn’t Liverpool at their best. In fact, for much of the first half Andoni Iraola’s side looked strangely flat and lethargic on his first return to his former club.
Bournemouth were sharper and more aggressive, with Liverpool struggling to put together the sort of sustained attacking pressure we would expect from a side containing Isak, Cody Gakpo, Florian Wirtz and Bradley Barcola.
The biggest moment of the first half came when Marcus Tavernier’s delivery was flicked goalwards by Evanilson, forcing Alisson into an excellent reaction save at his near post. Barcola eventually tested Djordje Petrovic before Dominik Szoboszlai sent a free-kick narrowly wide, but 0-0 at the interval was probably about as much as Liverpool deserved.
Thankfully, there was more purpose from the Reds after the break.
The breakthrough arrived in the 57th minute and owed plenty to Gakpo’s determination. The Dutchman did brilliantly to make progress down the right before delivering into the area. Wirtz got a slight touch and the ball fell perfectly for Isak, who made no mistake with a clinical first-time finish. It was his fourth Premier League goal of the season and another example of exactly why Liverpool were prepared to pay so much for him.
Liverpool still weren’t completely convincing afterwards, but there was plenty to admire about the way they protected their advantage. Jeremy Jacquet produced another assured performance at the back, while Alisson was dependable whenever Bournemouth threatened. The clean sheet was every bit as important as the goal.
Substitute Lewis Koumas could even have made the closing stages considerably more comfortable, but his stoppage-time effort was saved by Petrovic.
Overall, the Reds weren’t fluent. Wirtz again struggled to impose himself and the attacking combinations remain a work in progress, but after three draws from their opening four league matches, winning was the priority.
