By Olukayode Olumuyiwa.
Bournemouth secured a historic and dramatic 3-2 victory over Liverpool on Saturday, clinching only their second head-to-head win in 15 meetings. A last-minute strike from Amine Adli capped off a frantic encounter, leaving Arne Slot’s Liverpool side reeling and extending their winless league run to five matches.
First Half: Defensive Errors Cost Liverpool
The match began with a tentative opening period. Mohamed Salah saw a curling effort sail high and wide, while Bournemouth’s James Hill hooked a half-chance over the bar 18 minutes in. However, the deadlock was broken in the 26th minute following a defensive lapse from Virgil van Dijk.
Van Dijk misjudged a long ball from Marcos Senesi, allowing Alex Scott to reach the byline and cut the ball back for Evanilson, who powered his finish past Alisson Becker.
Things went from bad to worse for the visitors seven minutes later. Van Dijk was again involved, this time playing Álex Jiménez onside. Jiménez latched onto a through ball from Hill and coolly rolled the ball through Alisson’s legs to double the Cherries’ lead.
Liverpool managed to claw their way back into the game just before the interval. After Florian Wirtz and Salah saw chances go begging, Virgil van Dijk atoned for his earlier mistakes by heading home a Dominik Szoboszlai corner at the near post on the stroke of halftime.
Second Half: A Frantic Finish
Liverpool dominated possession in the early stages of the second half. Alexis Mac Allister, Jeremie Frimpong, and Cody Gakpo all attempted to find an equalizer, but they were repeatedly denied by a resilient Bournemouth defense. Ryan Gravenberch came closest with a powerful 20-yard strike that whistled just past the post.
Bournemouth had a golden opportunity to restore their two-goal lead when a long throw caused chaos in the Liverpool box, but Alisson managed to save Jiménez’s strike. That miss proved costly as Liverpool finally found their equalizer 10 minutes from time. Mohamed Salah rolled a free-kick into the path of Dominik Szoboszlai, who curled a brilliant effort around the wall and past Đorđe Petrović.
The Final Twist
The closing minutes were played at a breathless pace, with both Wirtz and Evanilson missing major opportunities to win it for their respective sides. Just as the match seemed destined for a draw, Bournemouth struck in the dying seconds.
Another long throw-in caused a goalmouth scramble, and Amine Adli was the quickest to react, forcing the ball over the line to spark wild celebrations at the Vitality Stadium. The result brings an end to a six-match losing streak for Bournemouth against the Reds and leaves Liverpool searching for answers in their domestic campaign.
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