Bournemouth 0-1 Liverpool: Isak bags lone goal in a gritty fixture against the Cherries

Liverpool escape the Vitality Stadium with a hard-fought win, exemplified by relentless pressing, classy defending and a desire to get down and dirty and do what must be done to get the team over the line. Not the most technical or beautiful of performances, but with a third clean sheet in as many games, Liverpool seem to be shoring up the defence, as Gakpo’s cross leads to another Isak goal to send the Reds into this extended international break.

Four minutes that decided it

The game turned in the space of four minutes early in the second half. On 52 minutes Ryan Christie had the best chance of the match — 0.59 xG, set up by Rayan — and missed. On 56, Isak followed up a rebound and scored from a 0.51 xG chance at the other end.

Liverpool finished with 1.36 xG to Bournemouth’s 0.94. The first half was tight — 0.43 to 0.19 — and most of the game’s chances came after the break.

Isak once again shows us that it’s not always about world-class finishing, but rather positioning. Gakpo crossed, Wirtz’s shot was blocked, and Isak was in the six-yard box to tap in the rebound. It is the fourth goal the pair have combined on this season — Gakpo assisted all three of Isak’s earlier league goals — and it shows the start both players have had. Gakpo has got to be in the form of his life, just a few weeks removed from possibly being sold to Manchester City, after Liverpool turned down an £80m bid in the summer. Happy to see these two creating some joy for the Reds.

Isak does it again

Isak scored with one of his three shots, from 0.68 xG, before coming off on 81 minutes. He is now second among all 25 qualifying Premier League forwards for goals per 90.

He is growing well into the number 9 role. Isak has now scored four goals in five Premier League games — already more than he managed in the league all of last season, and it is only September. This is the player Liverpool paid a British record transfer fee for at the time. I will say the service to Isak was lacking today, and that might have to do with Wirtz’s performance in the number 10 role, as he had a poor showing by his standards.

Three clean sheets in a row

Liverpool have now kept three league clean sheets in a row: Ipswich, Fulham and Bournemouth. All four goals they have conceded this season came in the first two games.

Bournemouth managed nine shots and put two on target. Tavernier, flagged in the preview as their biggest shot threat, didn’t have a shot. Christie was the danger instead, with four shots worth 0.70 xG between them.

The back line has been great since Ronald Araújo arrived from Barcelona. We have been very strong, and I feel good about us being able to sustain attacks in matches and counter-attack from those positions.

Gakpo and Wirtz behind it

Gakpo played the full 90 and created more than anyone: three key passes, worth 0.37 xA. Wirtz also made three key passes in his 71 minutes.

Gakpo is now second among 98 Premier League midfielders for assists per 90.

Wirtz overall had a poor day. His passing in the number 10 role was well below what you want — not that we don’t want him taking risks, but it was a very poor output from his perspective and for those looking in. Wirtz was subbed off on 71 minutes and Sobo was able to move up into the 10, where Liverpool looked more comfortable, especially with the press at that point. I was not happy with how rarely Barcola got the ball. I feel he should have been the one putting some pressure down the wing, and Wirtz needs to be picking him out so he can try to have some joy against the full-backs.

The table at the break

Five league games, two wins, three draws, no defeats. Liverpool go into the international break sixth, six points behind a Manchester City side who have won all five.

Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	Man City	5	5	0	0	+8	15
2	Arsenal	5	4	0	1	+4	12
3	Brighton	5	3	1	1	+11	10
4	Brentford	5	2	3	0	+6	9
5	Leeds	5	2	3	0	+4	9
6	Liverpool	5	2	3	0	+3	9

Source: football-data.org, after Sunday’s games.

Iraola’s unbeaten league run now stands at 23 games — the 18 he finished last season with at Bournemouth, and five at Liverpool. Bournemouth drop to 17th, still without a league win.

My preview called 3-2, with Barcola, Isak and Van Dijk scoring. It finished 1-0, and Isak was the one who got it.

My overall thought on the game is that we needed this result. We did not want to be going into the international break looking around like we are in a crisis again, and this transitional period has already shown signs of progress. Our press was not as tenacious as it was against Spurs: I felt that in the first 30 minutes Liverpool did not win the ball high up the pitch at any point, and were left to defend deeper in their own half. To be fair, Barcola was also getting locked off and man-marked on the wing. Once we see that, we need to start playing those line-breaking passes more directly to collapse the defence, then stretch it wide again. The second half was a much more open game. When Wirtz was taken off, Nyoni came in, and later Gravenberch, and Nyoni showed class and quality on and off the ball. We needed it, as our midfielders were starting to get overrun late in the game. Muñoz and Koumas coming on late gave us fresh legs, which helped a lot with the press towards the end.