Liverpool 1-0 Bournemouth: Five talking points from Anfield
Tuesday 18 August 2015 11:38, UK
Liverpool maintained their perfect start to the season with a narrow 1-0 win over newly-promoted Bournemouth thanks to Christian Benteke's controversial winner.
The new interpretation of the offside rule indicates Philippe Coutinho should have been flagged offside for the Belgian's first-half strike in the Monday Night Football encounter, but the officials failed to spot the infraction. It was a bitter blow for the Cherries, who had previously seen a goal controversially disallowed.
Here, we round up the top talking points from Anfield...
Disallowed goal
The first of two highly contentious first-half incidents came after just five minutes, when Tommy Elphick's headed effort was ruled out for what referee Craig Pawson deemed to be a foul on Dejan Lovren.
"If that's a free-kick, then we're going to seeing free-kicks blown every time there's a corner, in my opinion." That was Eddie Howe's assessment of the incident in his post-match interview with Sky Sports, and the punditry team agreed that it was the wrong decision.
Gary Neville felt the referee was influenced by Dejan Lovren's exaggerated reaction to the contact from Tommy Elphick. "It's poor defending from Lovren but he does something wise and shrewd," he said. "He arches his back and it makes it look like he's been pulled to the ground. It's a reaction that gets him the foul and keeps that from being a Bournemouth goal."
'Offside' controversy
It seemed inevitable that the new changes to the offside rule would lead to controversy sooner or later - and in the end, it has only taken two weeks of the season for a major flashpoint to arrive.
The new regulations state that an offside player who impacts on an opponent's ability to play the ball should be penalised, and that's what Coutinho appeared to do when he attempted to get a toe on Jordan Henderson's cross before Benteke's far-post finish.
"How can he not give offside there?" said an incredulous Neville at half-time. "That is the most ridiculous decision that you’ll see. It’s madness."
Howe was understandably disappointed. "The big decisions have gone against us," he said. "For that to be missed and with the new rule coming in so close to the season, it does leave a bitter taste for us."
Jamie Carragher sympathised. "There's a grey area," he said. "No one seems to understand it."
Benteke off the mark
But while Benteke was fortunate with his first Liverpool goal, this was an impressive home debut from the £32.5m man. The muscular striker won 16 aerial duels in total - nine more than any other player - and he proved a real handful for Bournemouth's back four.
"Christian played well today," James Milner told Sky Sports. "Chasing down those lost causes for us. With his feet, with his head, he's such a great target for us and gives us that extra dimension."
Carragher was also impressed. "He can look a little bit clumsy (at times) but in the first two games, he's looked neat and tidy," he said. "The main thing is that he's got a goal and it takes that pressure away. It's huge for him.
"If you go back to the two standout strikers over the last decade for Liverpool, (Luis) Suarez and (Fernando) Torres, they both got off the mark in their first games at Anfield and he's done the same."
Benteke could have added a second in the closing stages when his close-range effort was tipped onto the bar, but he was rightly pleased with his overall performance. "It's a great debut for myself and the team," he said. "It's a great feeling and it's important for the confidence for the next game."
Liverpool hold firm again
Liverpool have only allowed three shots on target in their opening two games, and back-to back clean sheets give them the best defensive record in the Premier League.
They are still a work in progress going forward, but Carragher is encouraged by what he has seen at the other end. "Sometimes you can keep a clean sheet but your keeper has made great saves or you've been fortunate, but they haven't given away any chances away in two games," he said.
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"That's the thing to build on. The acid test will come away at Arsenal next week, considering what happened there last season. It will be a test for the back four next week but if they can come through that, then that will give them confidence that they have more organisation, and that can help massively."
Indeed, having conceded 48 goals last season, 10 more than any of the top four, improving at the back should be high on Liverpool's list of priorities. The early signs are positive.
Positives for Bournemouth
No points from two games leaves Bournemouth in 19th place in the Premier League table, but they ran Liverpool close with a daring performance at Anfield. The Cherries were desperately unlucky with the game's two big decisions, and their Anfield exertions give them plenty of reason to believe.
"We tried to be brave and go toe to toe with Liverpool tonight," said Howe. "I think the players deserve a lot of credit for their performance in difficult circumstances. So there's lots to grow from, and hopefully that will be the big thing for us."
There have been questions over whether Bournemouth's possessional, passing style would hold up in the Premier League, but they completed 386 passes at Anfield, only 106 fewer than the hosts, and they had 47.4 per cent of the possession.
And as well as being unfortunate with key refereeing decisions, they were inches away from equalising in the second half when Matt Ritchie's fierce drive shaved the outside of Simon Mignolet's near post.
Both Crystal Palace and Southampton have stayed up having lost their first two games after promotion from the Championship in recent seasons, and a relatively kind run of upcoming fixtures against West Ham, Leicester and Norwich gives them a chance to get on track.
