Jota and Nunez at the double; Bournemouth 0–4 Liverpool.

Liverpool brilliantly defeated Bournemouth with a strong second half performance, overcoming more unsatisfactory decisions from the referee.

Goals

Nunez 49′ (assist: Jota)
Jota 70′ (assist: Gakpo)
Jota 79′ (assist: Bradley)
Nunez 90+3′ (assist: Gomez)

Liverpool made their way back to play on the south coast after going ten days without a match and twenty days without a league match.

The weather in Bournemouth at kickoff was similar to that of the League Cup match earlier in the season: stormy, with wind gusts reaching 50 mph.

Despite being the stronger team in the first half, Liverpool was unable to generate any clear-cut opportunities and most of their long-range shots were not very dangerous.

Three players stood out in particular: Conor Bradley, who made his Premier League debut and became the first Northern Irishman to play for the team in the Premier League, Ibrahima Konate, and Alexis Mac Allister.

The main topic of discussion at halftime, however, was the fact that Justin Kluivert’s challenge on Luis Diaz received no penalty at all. It was an almost identical challenge to the one Curtis Jones received a red card for against Tottenham.

The referee wasn’t even advised to look by Paul Tierney on VAR. More inconsistent officiating in the Premier League.

Half time: Bournemouth 0-0 Liverpool

• LFC superb in second half
• Bradley makes PL debut
• Owen Beck PL debut from bench
• Nunez & Jota doubles

Early in the first half, Nunez and Jota combined to open the score. Jota’s exquisite first-time pass found Nunez, who rolled it past the goalie to score his second goal in 16 games.

Jota was fouled by a player and shoved by another, and Liverpool should have been awarded a penalty shortly after. However, neither the referee nor VAR awarded any points.

After a difficult first half, Jota showed great improvement, setting up the second goal with a great assist from Nunez and Gakpo.

Liverpool deserved Jota’s crisp finish at the near post following a much better second half.

With ten minutes left, the Portuguese striker added a second goal, a brilliant finish by Jota following an early miskick that had the home crowd laughing instead of cheering.

Curtis Jones, who looked to be suffering from a hamstring problem, was replaced by 18-year-old midfielder Bobby Clark, while Jurgen Klopp started Owen Beck in his Premier League debut off the bench.

In stoppage time, Nunez scored his second goal with a beautiful finish off of Gomez’s cross.

With a game remaining, the Reds are atop the standings, five points ahead of Man City.

The focus now shifts to domestic cup competitions, with Norwich competing in the FA Cup on Sunday and Fulham in the League Cup on Wednesday.

Man of the Match: Diogo Jota

Referee: Andy Madley

Bournemouth: Neto; Aarons, Zabarnyi, Mepham, Hill; Christie, Cook; Sinisterra, Kluivert, Tavernier; Solanke

Subs: Travers, Kelly, Scott, Billing, Kilkenny, Marcondes, Brooks, Moore Greenwood

Liverpool: Alexis Mac Allister; Bradley (Beck 83′), Konate, Van Dijk, Gomez; Alisson, Elliott (Gravenberch 64′), Jones (Clark 83′); Diaz (Gakpo 64′), Nunez, Jota (Gordon 90+4′)

Subs not used: Kelleher, Adrian, Quansah, McConnell

Next Game: Fulham, League Cup (away, Wednesday, January 24)

Previous news……

Fans of Liverpool are given a comforting transfer update by Fabrizio Romano.

Although Al Ettifaq of the Saudi Pro League has been linked to Liverpool defender Joe Gomez, Fabrizio Romano seems to think the Reds don’t want to let go of him.

Gomez was one of several names brought up by Al Ettifaq and their manager Steven Gerrard in a recent meeting, along with fellow Liverpool defender Joel Matip, as Ben Jacobs had previously reported on CaughtOffside.

Romano has since updated CaughtOffside exclusively in his Daily Briefing column, stating that Liverpool’s position is that Gomez is not for sale and that the 26-year-old is expected to remain at Anfield.

Even if he won’t be leaving LFC this month, Matip might be someone to monitor for the finish of the season, according to Romano.

Romano wrote, “Despite talk of a possible move to Al Ettifaq, Joel Matip won’t leave Liverpool now,” in reference to these players in his most recent piece. It might be different in the summer, and he might be drawn to Saudi attention. Additionally, I don’t see Joe Gomez going; he’s staying.

Matip has served Liverpool well, but after the end of the current campaign, it may be time for him to go on. Gomez, on the other hand, is undoubtedly still a valued member of Jurgen Klopp’s squad.