Luis Diaz sinks Bournemouth as Liverpool come back in style | Premier League

At the end of the season, Arne Slot hopes to be able to laugh about last week's defeat to Nottingham Forest. Since that dismal performance, Liverpool have easily beaten Milan in the Champions League and moved to the top of the table. Premier League by beating Bournemouth in a perfect response to the first setback of the Dutchman's tenure.

Where Forest made Liverpool suffer with a disciplined display, Bournemouth allowed Ryan Gravenberch and his midfield colleagues to dictate the game and then provided an opening goal that put the game to bed.

Luis Díaz personally took responsibility for causing much of the damage with two goals and Darwin Núñez, with a point to prove, added a third to banish memories of seven days ago.

“After the great win against Milan, I was curious to see how we would react today,” said Slot. “And the reaction was much, much better than the one we had against Nottingham Forest.”

Liverpool will have thought another tough game was in store after an eventful opening four minutes, in which Ryan Christie was booked for a foul on Diaz 20 seconds after kick-off and Antoine Semenyo had a goal ruled out. The assistant referee saw no problem with the goal, but VAR silenced the fans who had made the 840km journey from the south coast by recognising the clear offside at the far post following a fine piece of work by Justin Kluivert. The most galling aspect for Bournemouth was the lack of need for Semenyo to get ahead of the game. Liverpool He made the most of the pardon.

Kepa Arrizabalaga arrived at Bournemouth on loan from Chelsea in the transfer market in the desperate hope of offering some proof of why he is the most expensive goalkeeper in the history of football. He made several aesthetically pleasing saves to keep out two Diaz shots and was quick to smother a Mohamed Salah chance. All that was forgotten when Ibrahima Konaté launched a long ball forward; Arrizabalaga thought he could go and claim it outside the area but was caught short as Diaz outpaced him and fired into an empty net. Before the goal, Diaz was Liverpool’s most dangerous player with his usual combination of brute force and artistry, earning luck as his reward.

The mistake was still nagging at Arrizabalaga when Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold combined on the halfway line. The full-back ran 30 yards and played a pass to Diaz, who slotted the ball under the Bournemouth goalkeeper for Liverpool's second goal in less than three minutes. If anyone was worried about a repeat of the defeat to Forest, their fears had been allayed.

All of Bournemouth’s problems began in South America, when Nunez followed Diaz’s lead and played a one-two with Salah before driving down the right flank and cutting in, allowing him to deflect a shot into the far corner for Liverpool’s third goal in 12 minutes. The Uruguayan was clearly emotional as he celebrated in the corner in what was his first start of the season and his first goal in 15 games.

Slot had supported Núñez “My first instinct was when he shot, I said, ‘Why are you shooting? Why aren’t you still dribbling?’” Slot said. “I saw the ball go in off the post. I thought, ‘Well, maybe you’re a better soccer player than I was in the past.’”

Bournemouth had as many shots as the home side, albeit seven fewer on target, as they did their best to get back into the game. Liverpool were nowhere to be seen, though, allowing Slot to bring on Federico Chiesa for his Premier League debut in front of a rapturous Anfield crowd and earn Diaz and Nunez the standing ovations they deserved, while Caoimhín Kelleher, replacing the injured Alisson, had a comfortable afternoon. Liverpool had their problems but have bounced back, having won four of five league games, conceding one goal.

As for Bournemouth, however, they have won once in eight league games. “The statistics were pretty even, but I think Liverpool were better when it mattered most,” Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola said. “This is what great teams can do, when things were at stake, they finished better. When they had the chances, they made the difference with their finishing.”