English Premier League leaders Liverpool may be without their star forward Mohamed Salah due to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, the Egypt captain’s strike partners Darwin Núñez and Diogo Jota certainly stepped up their game and filled the 31-year-old’s shoes during his absence in the Reds’ English top-flight football matchup against Bournemouth at Vitality Stadium. 24-year-old Uruguayan Darwin Núñez and 27-year-old Portuguese Diogo Jota each scored a brace to help Jürgen Klopp’s side to a 4-0 away victory and the 3 points sent the 19-time English champions 5 points clear at the summit of the Premier League table.
Darwin Núñez and Diogo Jota Delivered Braces to Liverpool’s Comfortable Victory
Darwin Núñez’s and Diogo Jota’s Liverpool came into this Matchday 21 fixture of the 2023/2024 English Premier League Season on the run of 13 unbeaten games, and they would go on to stay invincible in their encounter at the Vitality Stadium. However, things did not go easy on the Reds despite their eventual big 4-0 victory, since Bournemouth gave their visitors a lot of pressure and almost broke the deadlock moments before the half time.
Klopp’s team talk for Liverpool during half time must have worked. After the game was resumed in the second half, Darwin Núñez finally put his name on the scoreboard, following a setup by Diogo Jota. The 24-year-old Uruguayan striker slotted home the opener at the bottom right corner after a beautiful link-up play that started from the back. Both teams would stay quiet for a good 20 minutes, until Liverpool scored again, this time Diogo Jota turned from an assist provider to a goal scorer. Substitute Cody Gakpo sent a delicate pass to his Portuguese teammate Diogo Jota, followed up by a first-time strike into the far post for Liverpool’s second goal.
The 27-year-old Diogo Jota did not have to wait long for another goal in the match. Less than 10 minutes after his goal and Liverpool’s second of the evening, the Portuguese received a cross by Conor Bradley from the right flank and mistimed his subsequent effort. Fortunately, Diogo Jota was given enough time to readjust his feet and fired in the second goal of his brace to increase Liverpool’s cushion to three. The Reds’ demolition over Bournemouth did not stop at 3-0, as Joe Gomez found Núñez for a tap-in in the penalty box in the stoppage time to put more misery to the home side. Diogo Jota’s and Núñez’s doubles ensured all 3 points for the Reds.
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Klopp: “It’s About Winning the Games in the End.”
Liverpool‘s gaffer from Germany stated that he was impressed that his team found a way to win despite a slow start. “First half, so let me say it like this, I spoke a couple of times about periods when we had five games in thirteen days, stuff like this; really tough. Now we had 11 days off, we trained five days of these 11 days and we lacked rhythm. I don’t complain about it, it’s our fault, but it’s really tricky, but the other team had the same situation. They had rhythm because it’s pretty important to have a good start and we had the opposite of a good start,” said the German.
Klopp continued on the differences between both halves of the game: “Then we played long balls when we should’ve played between the lines and the other way around as well. So, it was not good. [At] half-time we had two or three situations we could show the boys how it should look and it helped a little bit with the position change of the front three. But in general we showed them where the spaces are where we could play and how important it is if we really push up to win the ball back high.”
The 56-year-old Klopp concluded on his team’s 4-0 demolition over Bournemouth with Diogo Jota’s and Núñez’s braces: “Yeah, now the second half was our start, it’s the other way around. In the moment we find rhythm, we are strong, I have to say that looks then really, really good. But without rhythm probably nobody is strong. We should start games better but it’s anyway about 98 minutes… it’s about winning the games in the end. As long as we stay in the game pretty much everything what happens in the game is allowed. We don’t have to perform for 98 minutes [at an] absolutely top level. Today step by step we found a way in the game and won it.”
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Salah Set to Return to the Reds From 2023 AFCON
Egypt captain and Liverpool forward Salah injured his hamstring during the Pharaohs’ 2-2 draw against Ghana in their second Group B fixture of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, prompting everyone to think whether his participation in the tournament is all but over already.
In regard to this, when asked if Salah should be returning to Liverpool for treatment from Ivory Coast, the 56-year-old Klopp had this to say: “If that’s already decided 100 per cent, I don’t know. But that’s the plan. However long he’s out, probably everybody sees it like this, it makes sense that he’s doing the rehab with us or with our people. If that’s written in stone already, I don’t know. I spoke with him directly after, the night when it happened. Since then he’s in contact with our doctor. I think he will be back. I would say if Egypt qualifies for the final, if he’s fit before the final, then probably yes (Rejoin Egypt).”
🇪🇬 Mohamed Salah will return to England to do his rehab with Liverpool.
According to Jurgen Klopp, if Salah is fit before the AFCON final, he will return to Ivory Coast. #AFCON2023
via @LewisSteele_ pic.twitter.com/CWiePmIe7z
— Owuraku Ampofo (@_owurakuampofo) January 21, 2024
