Bournemouth 0-2 Liverpool: Mohamed Salah double takes leaders nine points clear

Liverpool defeated Bournemouth in a hard-fought away game, with Mohamed Salah's brace securing a nine-point lead at the top of the Premier League table. This victory solidified Liverpool's leading position and highlighted Salah's crucial role within the team.

Salah's league goal tally has now reached 178, surpassing Frank Lampard's 177 to become the sixth-highest scorer in Premier League history. In the match, he opened the scoring for Liverpool in the 30th minute with a penalty, which was awarded after Lewis Cook tripped Cody Gakpo.

This season, Bournemouth had previously defeated strong teams such as Arsenal, Manchester City, and Nottingham Forest. They also had opportunities to take the lead against Liverpool, but Antoine Semenyo's shot hit the left post and bounced out. Early in the second half, Semenyo had another chance, but his shot was blocked by Alisson's leg. Later, substitute Marcus Tavernier's shot also hit the inside of the post, while Justin Kluivert's follow-up shot went over the bar.

Failing to equalize proved crucial for Bournemouth. Salah scored a brilliant curler late in the game to make it 2-0, sealing the victory. Although Arsenal could narrow the gap to six points with a win against Manchester City at home on Sunday, Liverpool currently has 56 points from 23 games. Liverpool, who last won the Premier League title in the 2019-20 season, are now pursuing their 20th English top-flight title in manager Arne Slot's first season.

Liverpool are now unbeaten in 19 top-flight league games since losing 0-1 at home to Nottingham Forest on September 14. Despite this, Slot's team still had a tough battle to overcome Bournemouth, who suffered their first defeat in nearly 12 league games. After securing a place in the Champions League last 16, Slot rested most of his key players in the 3-2 loss to Eindhoven on Wednesday. However, even with the return of the key players, Bournemouth almost took the lead after just 12 seconds, with Semenyo's shot forcing a save from Alisson.

Bournemouth is currently seventh, just one point behind the top four, and still has a chance to achieve their best season in their 125-year history, aiming for their first qualification for European competition. While Bournemouth performed better in the second half, Alisson made several excellent saves, and Salah once again proved his crucial role. He is the league's top scorer this season and has scored at least 20 goals in five seasons in the English top flight, with only Alan Shearer (seven times), Sergio Aguero and Harry Kane (six times each) doing more in the Premier League era.

Earlier this week, Slot stated that he hopes Salah will renew his contract with the Premier League leaders and has discussed their futures with Salah, Van Dijk, and Alexander-Arnold. Liverpool rejected a £150 million offer for Salah from Saudi Arabian club Al-Ittihad in September 2023. However, with Salah's contract expiring in the summer, there are growing concerns that he may leave for free at the end of the season. "Everyone wants him, including us—of course, we want him to renew. That's obvious," Slot said on Friday.

Salah once again demonstrated how much Liverpool needs him, and the joyous celebrations at the end of the game highlighted the importance of this victory for the Reds.