Liverpool 3-0 Bournemouth: Big moment for Nunez, Chiesa excites

Darwin Nunez and Federico Chiesa both provided reason for encouragement as Bournemouth were put to the sword.

Photo: IMAGO | Anfield Index

Liverpool moved top of the Premier League as they beat Bournemouth 3-0 at Anfield.

Luis Diaz’s brace and a fine goal from Darwin Nunez ensured the Reds took a three-goal lead into half-time.

And they saw out a comfortable victory with ease from there, putting a shock loss to Nottingham Forest quickly behind them in the process.

Read on for the key talking points from the game…

Nunez gets crucial goal

That Darwin Nunez was forced to wait until the sixth game of the new season to get his first start seemed to say plenty about Arne Slot’s thoughts on him.

The Uruguayan had been frustratingly inconsistent under Jurgen Klopp, and his omission from the line-up to face Nottingham Forest despite not going out on international duty appeared to suggest the new manager felt this was still an issue.

But then he was somewhat surprisingly trusted here, and went on to produce a performance that showed why he might actually go on to be a big threat under Slot.

His goal was, of course, beautifully taken, but it is some of the tidy involvement in build-up that was most encouraging.

And Slot will also have loved seeing his No.9 battling to win the ball back throughout, something he succeeded in on a number of occasions.

It wasn’t perfect by any means, but then Diogo Jota hasn’t exactly been that after beginning the campaign in the manager’s preferred XI.

So, if the starting spot at centre-forward is up for grabs, then Nunez did his chances of claiming it no harm here.

Chiesa excites on Anfield debut

Federico Chiesa has been unable to wipe the smile off his face since signing for Liverpool this summer.

And the benefits of that could be seen in his second-half cameo against Bournemouth.

Despite being on the pitch for just 18 minutes, the Italian contested five duels, recovered the ball three times, and took on two shots.

It was the sort of all-action performance you might expect from a player who is just utterly delighted to be at Anfield.

It also bodes well for what is to come once he gets up to full speed and used to playing with his new teammates.

Reds’ midfield is key to success

If you want to win football matches, then dominating the centre of the park is key, and Liverpool are now consistently showing that they have the tools to do that.

Gone is the chaos of the latter part of Klopp’s reign, with an ability to exert control instead replacing it.

But that would not be possible were it not for the efforts of the deep-lying duo of Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister.

Gravenberch was again magnificent here, winning seven of his 11 duels and showing that trademark composure in tight spaces to get Liverpool back on the attack time and time again.

But Mac Allister, who has gone under the radar this season thanks to his teammate’s exploits, also won four out of five tackles and completed 93% of his passes as Bournemouth were dominated.

They are proving to be a perfectly balanced pairing in the middle, and are vital to everything good about Liverpool at the moment.

Set-piece strength shown again

Okay, so Liverpool didn’t score twice from corners or free-kicks to win this game, as was the case out in Milan on Tuesday.

But they showed a different aspect of their set-piece strength that will be just as key over the course of a season.

The visitors clocked up a whopping nine corners at Anfield but managed to generate just 0.29 xG from them as the Reds defended brilliantly.

The Cherries did strike the bar late on from one such set-piece, but there was an element of pinball to that attempt that would have made it fortuitous to say the least.

Just like Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate’s goals in midweek, Liverpool’s strength here is down to the work of coach Aaron Briggs and the club’s team of analysts.

And so it is no surprise that, as was exclusively revealed by this reporter earlier this week, the search for a specialist set-piece coach is now on hold.