A couple of injury scares, a penalty miss and a red card couldn’t stop Liverpool from emerging as 3-1 winners over Bournemouth.
An eventful match at Anfield is the latest Gameweek 2 match to get the Scout Notes treatment.
- READ MORE: FPL Gameweek 2: Saturday’s goals, assists, bonus points + stats
- READ MORE: Opta player and team data from Liverpool v Bournemouth
DIAZ + ALEXANDER-ARNOLD INJURY SCARES
Trent Alexander-Arnold (£8.0m) and Luis Diaz (£7.6m) provoked injury concerns after being substituted late in the match on Merseyside. Alexander-Arnold was limping as he exited, while Diaz received on-field treatment immediately before being hooked.
Klopp discussed the right-back’s withdrawal.
“I hope [he’s OK]. He told me now he got a kick and it was pretty painful, but as far as he felt it didn’t twist or whatever, it was a kick and that’s why we changed then. But I hope he will be fine.” – Jurgen Klopp on Trent Alexander-Arnold
The Liverpool boss didn’t, however, really acknowledge any issue for Diaz, instead talking about another excellent performance from the winger.
“When Lucho is fit, I think nobody has any doubt about his quality. It was an exceptional goal he scored, an absolutely exceptional goal. Top class, in a very good shape, but the second half was really tough for him, as well. Being part of this new midfield [after the red card], that was really hard for him and you could see that. Besides that, as long as he was fresh and everything he was obviously super, super. A massive threat for everybody. He is in a good moment, no doubt about it.” – Jurgen Klopp on Luis Diaz
Diaz made it two goals in as many matches with a superbly taken effort against Bournemouth. Mohamed Salah (£12.5m) and Diogo Jota (£8.0m) added goals thereafter, with the Egyptian scoring from the rebound after his penalty had been saved.
It was just like the old days for Alexander-Arnold, meanwhile, as he ‘inverted’ less and less as the game went on (especially so after Alexis Mac Allister‘s (£6.0m) dismissal prompted a change to 4-4-1) and was mostly sharing set plays with Andrew Robertson (£6.5m). Dominik Szoboszlai (£7.0m), who had been muscling in on dead-ball duties, took only one of Liverpool’s 11 corners/crossed free-kicks.
Three shots and as many chances created were registered by the right-back.
HOW MANY MATCHES WILL MAC ALLISTER MISS?
With Mac Allister’s red card coming as the result of serious foul play, the Argentine will miss the next three Liverpool games.
They’ll all be league matches, too, with no EFL Cup tie to absorb part of the ban.
So Mac Allister will sit out Gameweeks 3-5, returning in Gameweek 6 in over a month’s time.
That’s if Liverpool fail with their appeal – and it sounds very much like they will appeal, such was the controversial nature of the dismissal.
“I think the amount of times I got asked about it [by the media] shows already it is worth discussing it again, which we will probably do.
“I think it is a decision we all agree if he gives a yellow card the VAR would not overturn it. He gave a red card and the VAR is not overturning it because the contact means there is no clear and obvious [error]. Mistake, but I think the punishment [of] 40 minutes with 10 men in that weather today is already punishment enough, but let’s see. I don’t know. We have to talk to the authorities.” – Jurgen Klopp on Alexis Mac Allister’s red card
WILL SALAH STAY ON PENS?
Salah’s miss was his third from the spot in five attempts.
Klopp wasn’t asked about the Egyptian’s standing in the penalty-taking pecking order after the game but it was only earlier this year that player and manager had a “conversation” about Salah’s role from 12 yards.
The Egypt international clung onto penalty-taking duties after that chat but this latest miss will put fresh pressure on him.
There’s Mac Allister (nine career penalties scored from 10 attempts), Szoboszlai (15 from 16) and Darwin Nunez (£7.5m, 11 from 11) waiting in the wings, should Klopp decide to give someone else a chance.
Salah’s FPL appeal would take a further hit if he was to lose spot-kicks.
Diaz, for almost £5.0m less, is indeed outperforming his team-mate for non-penalty expected goal involvement (NPxGI) at this very, very early stage of 2023/24.
Wider ranges of data are always helpful for context, though: Salah bettered every other FPL midfielder for NPxGI in 2022/23.
£4.5M FORWARD STARTS – AND SCORES
Bournemouth were the latest club to make Liverpool’s defence look vulnerable, although the Reds were much improved after the first quarter of an hour.
By that point, Antoine Semenyo (£4.5m) had opened the scoring after an Alexander-Arnold error.
That’s now two attacking returns in as many Gameweeks, after his assist off the bench on the opening weekend.
There are no cheaper forwards than Semenyo in the game right now. Fifteen of the 20 listed at £4.5m haven’t even set foot onto the pitch in 2023/24 so far.
He’s come out of nowhere, really, after surgery ruled him out of the whole of pre-season.
But he was arguably the Cherries’ most dangerous player at Anfield, excelling in a right-wing role. As well as the goal, he went close with another opportunity and teed up a glorious chance that Kieffer Moore (£5.0m) spurned.
There’s been plenty of encouragement from Andoni Iraola’s troops in the first two Gameweeks, although they’ve conceded more shots than any other Premier League team in that time. Up next for the Cherries’ defence: Ange Postecoglou’s gung-ho Tottenham Hotspur…
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