Liverpool hit four at Bournemouth
Liverpool moved back into the top four with a scintillating attacking performance that blew away Bournemouth 4-0 on Super Sunday.
Credit to Couthino.
Mohamed Salah has been the star of Liverpool's season but Philippe Coutinho took centre stage in their 4-0 win over Bournemouth . After a summer of uncertainty and amid continued speculation linking him with Barcelona, he deserves credit for keeping his focus.
When the transfer window closed and Barcelona's pursuit of Couthino ended in failure, attention immediately turned to whether Philippe Coutinho's Liverpool performances would be affected.
Could he recapture his best form with the most high-profile transfer saga of the summer hanging over him? Could he put the uncertainty behind him and cope with the added pressure?
With 10 goals and seven assists in his last 13 starts, it is safe to say he has answered those questions emphatically. There has been a hat-trick against Spartak Moscow and brilliance against everyone from Leicester to Brighton, but his mesmerising display against Bournemouth on Sunday night was arguably his best yet.
Bournemouth 0-4 Liverpool
The goal will go down as one of his finest in a Liverpool shirt. The one-two with Andrew Robertson showed him at his quick-thinking best. The balance and close-control after that was even better. "It's a piece of brilliance," said Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp. "Sometimes we look so much at how you can stop it defensively, but it is just a joy to watch that little fella when he gets on the ball."
The game was only 20 minutes old at that point but Coutinho had been at it from the start, wreaking havoc from Liverpool's left flank and crashing an early free-kick against the inside of the post. Two minutes before half-time, he released Mohamed Salah with a perfectly measured first-time chip over Bournemouth's defence. It was another moment of inspiration and there were more to come.
Coutinho tormented Bournemouth right up until his substitution, dropping into midfield to pick passes for Salah, Roberto Firmino and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain as Liverpool continued to pour forward after the break. In the 66th minute, he lifted a diagonal cross into the box for the onrushing Firmino to head his side's fourth goal beyond Asmir Begovic.
