Salah misses penalty as Liverpool slip up against Bournemouth

One step forward, two steps back. This has been the theme of Liverpool’s 2022/23 Premier League season as the Reds’ Champions League hopes suffered another body blow following their 1-0 loss to relegation-threatened Bournemouth on the south coast. Philip Billing’s first-half strike lifted the Cherries to a much-needed victory, while Mohamed Salah missed a penalty with 20 minutes to go to leave Jurgen Klopp’s side languishing outside the top four.

Buoyed by the confidence of their 7-0 hammering over Manchester United last Sunday, Liverpool showed plenty of signs of early promise against Bournemouth. Cody Gakpo had an early effort ruled out for off-side, while Virgil van Dijk had a towering header cleared off the line by Colombian midfielder Jefferson Lerma.

Andrew Robertson also had a shot well-saved by Neto, but just as Liverpool began to dominate the proceedings, the visitors allowed Bournemouth to get back into the contest. Dango Outarra provided an early warning sign for the Reds as he was slipped through by Dominic Solanke and fired inches wide off the post following a one-on-one with Alisson.

The winger continued to profit from the space behind Liverpool’s backline and setup the Cherries opener after an excellent piece of trickery to drift past Virgil van Dijk before crossing the ball for the onrushing Philip Billing, who made no mistake from close range to put the hosts 1-0 in front in the 28th minute.

Liverpool improved after the break following the introduction of Diogo Jota for Harvey Eliott, with the Portuguese forward testing Neto with a rasping shot.

Bournemouth should have doubled their lead in the second half, but Marcos Senesi couldn’t find the back of the net for the second game in succession as he failed to find the connection needed from a free header. Diogo Jota then won a penalty for the visitors after the Portuguese’s header in the area was blocked by the arm of Adam Smith.

Mohamed Salah stepped up to take the spot kick for the Reds, but the Egyptian couldn’t convert, missing the target altogether from 12 yards, much to the delight of the Bournemouth faithful.

The visitors had one final chance to salvage something from the contest, but Cody Gakpo couldn’t find the target late on, resigning the Reds to their eighth league loss of the season. This defeat denies Liverpool a chance to close the gap to Tottenham in fourth place, leaving the Reds stuck in sixth position in the table, two points behind Newcastle, who have a game in hand.