Liverpool missed the chance to go above Tottenham Hotspur and move into the top four of the Premier League as Philip Billing’s goal lifted Bournemouth off the bottom of the table with a 1-0 win at the Vitality Stadium.
Liverpool were on a high tide, as they smashed their arch rivals Manchester United 7-0 last weekend. But losing to bottom placed Bournemouth, it definitely reflects their inconsistency.
The Reds started brightly and created an early flurry of opportunities, but they struggled to deal with the energy of Bournemouth’s front three and Klopp’s men fell behind when Dango Ouattara’s low cross was swept home by Philip Billing near the half-hour mark.
Liverpool had opportunities, most notably when Mo Salah missed a second-half penalty after a disputed “handball” by Adam Smith. Yet, it is difficult to say that Liverpool was unlucky. Salah’s missed opportunity seemed to sum up Liverpool’s afternoon.
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An excellent opportunity missed served as a reminder of how fragile confidence can become after not performing consistently for a spell. After the game, Klopp appeared perplexed as to how his players could have experienced such extremes back-to-back in less than six days.
Klopp was visibly frustrated in the post-match press conference.
“The game was pretty much the opposite of what we wanted to show and to do today. I think we played for pretty much 95 minutes the game Bournemouth wanted to play and a few minutes maybe, a few moments, we did the stuff we wanted to do actually, so we lost the game,” he said.
“I think with the home games we are top four, if I’m right. With the away games, we are not even in Europe.”
The reds go again on Wednesday on a very important fixture against Real Madrid in the Champions League after being defeated on home soil (5-2) and will try to make a comeback.