Following a week of walking around breë bors after beating Manchester United 7-0, coach Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool came crashing down to earth with a 1-0 defeat to sukkeling Bournemouth on Saturday.
The defeat left the Reds six points behind Tottenham Hotspur in the race for fourth in the Premier League, albeit with a game in hand over their rivals.
Still, Klopp admits the Cherries gave them a “massive knock” to their top-four hopes and confidence.
Things you love to see...@AdamSmith912's pass 🎯@DangoOuattara's cross 🔥
— AFC Bournemouth 🍒 (@afcbournemouth) March 12, 2023
Phil Billling's finish 🏁@HendyGroup // #afcb pic.twitter.com/4eiPhFfTwr
One guy who will feel that knock more than others is attacker Mo Salah, who missed the chance to cancel out Bournemouth midfielder Philip Billing’s tap home in the 28th-minute when he smashed a penalty kick wide 20 minutes from time.
With fans in disbelief, Klopp, whose team has not had the best of seasons to date, says: “This game was a massive knock and how it is with knocks, you have to take them, you have to have a look how big the scars are and then you go from there.”
The Reds, though, had other big chances too.
Virgil van Dijk had a sixth-minute header cleared off the line, before the Cherries gave their first warning of the day as Dango Outtara messed up his finish on the counter.
Cody Gakpo then stabbed in a headed Darwin Nunez assist after 13 minutes, only to have it chalked off for offside.
But when VAR judged Adam Smith to have handled the ball in the Reds penalty area in the 68th minute, they thought this was it.
Salah then stepped up and fired wide of the mark.
Up next: #RMALIV #UCL pic.twitter.com/dWB5nWf7AK
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) March 12, 2023
Liverpool now have to pick themselves up if they are to overturn the 5-2 scoreline in Wednesday’s Champions League last-16 trip to Real Madrid.
dailyvoice@inl.co.za