DARWIN NUNEZ had been down on his luck before his trip to the south coast.
.
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Darnwin Nunez scored twice to end his barren run in front of goal
Diogo Jota impressed as Liverpool cruised to victory
The Reds are now five points clear at the top
The Uruguayan forward for Liverpool had scored only once in his previous thirteen matches, squandered a handful of opportunities, and was heckled in the first half with insulting chants
However, Nunez opened the scoring with his 100th career goal and then concluded the rout in extra time.
Furthermore, he significantly contributed to Diogo Jota’s brace as Jurgen Klopp’s squad secured a five-point lead atop the Premier League standings following their fifth consecutive victory across all competitions.
In November, Nunez scored a resounding victory in this Carabao Cup venue. He must have been compelled to respond to his tormentors with a chorus of “May I play you every week?”
Although Manchester City trail the leaders by one game, Klopp’s squad appears formidable.
Their strength is comparatively weaker than that of the formidable squad that secured the Champions League and Premier League titles in 2019.
However, despite lacking half of their preferred starting lineup, they managed to secure a triumph away from home against the Premier League’s most in form squad with minimal disruption.
Bournemouth’s season was completely changed by a run of seven wins in nine games.
Andoni Iraola, who was facing termination only a few months earlier, was receiving frequent criticism from the home crowd because of the remarkable turnaround.
In the stadium where the Reds lost the previous season, Klopp started Conor Bradley for his complete league debut in lieu of Trent Alexander-Arnold.
A “calm before the storm” atmosphere pervaded the first half of the match; the expected gale-force winds had not yet manifested, and neither team could produce the game-winning pass in the final third.
Alexis Mac Allister has filled the holding role for this season because of need. Liverpool kept the Cherries at bay with a string of stifling challenges over an extended length of time.
Nunez’s in particular, as well as Liverpool’s overall, continued to make poor decisions.
After a brutal last-minute challenge from Justin Kluivert on Luis Diaz, the Liverpool forward was let to continue as VAR showed no concern.
Luis Sinisterra posed a threat on the left wing as Bournemouth started to build a rhythm in their assault prior to halftime.
And Ryan Christie stopped a clear chance for his teammate by moving ahead of the center striker and taking an airshot after collecting a low center ball from Kluivert.
It wrapped up the first part. Even if a lot of things almost happened, nothing really did.
Having retired to his dugout before the players had even emerged, Klopp was replaced early in the second half; it seemed his message in the changing room had taken hold.
For four minutes after the break, Liverpool took the lead thanks to a play that showed the purpose and poise they had lacked in the first half.
With a brilliant crossfield pass, Ibrahima Konate found Curtis Jones. Jones then slanted a pass for Diogo Jota, who slipped a pass for Nunez.
On his debut, the Uruguayan, a liability in front of goal most of the time, tucked the ball past Neto and into the bottom corner.
Klopp cried out as Nunez screamed at the departing fans.
Soon after, Jota had a good chance for a penalty after Illia Zabarnyi’s challenge, but Virgil Van Dijk skillfully stopped a shot from Kluivert.
As the visitors started to assert their control, Neto made a remarkable save to deny Bradley.
Lewis Cook’s foul on Bradley resulted in a booking for Bournemouth’s fitness coach Pablo De La Torre, setting off an intense confrontation between Klopp and the player.
After Klopp replaced Ryan Gravenberch and Cody Gakpo, Gakpo was directly involved in Liverpool’s second goal.
Jota found Nunez with a crossfield pass, and Nunez outmuscled his opponent Zabarnyi to create space for Gakpo to help Jota. Nunez then outran the goalie at his near post and fired the pass past Neto.
The second goal by Jota was an additional dent in the defense of the home crowd.
Jota scored his ninth goal of the season
Nunez recognized Bradley, and the boy helped the Portuguese, but Cherries fans chuckled at his first-ever miss.
Still, Lewis Cook and Lloyd Kelly hesitated as the ball came back to Jota, who hammered it in.
Jones missed a late sitter for the home team after Christie released David Brooks, and Klopp later withdrew Jones due to injury.
But in injury time, Nunez scored with a brilliant outside-the-boot finish after sneaking in at the far post after Joe Gomez fired in a clever cross from the right flank.