There was plenty to celebrate for Liverpool players as they scored three and kept a clean sheet at Bournemouth on Saturday.
The Reds made the trip to the south coast with a 15th league win firmly in their sights, where they came up against a Bournemouth outfit without a win in their last four.
And while Jurgen Klopp’s side have been one for the dramatics in recent weeks, the Reds instead cruised to a comfortable 3-0 victory this time around as the decision to rotate the side again reaped its rewards.
The boss made seven changes to the side who clinched an emphatic 5-2 win over Everton last time out.
And both Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita took the chance to shine as they each finished off two stunning passages of play to see the Reds take a two goal advantage into the break.
The Reds would continue to flex their muscles in the second half and inflict further misery on the Cherries, as Mohamed Salah found the scoresheet for the fifth consecutive time against the hosts as Liverpool successfully shut up shop to notch a rare clean sheet and another three points.
For Jordan Henderson, who spoke to LFCTV after the final whistle, it was a win which the team walked away from “delighted” as they shone both offensively and defensively:
“It was a professional performance and a very solid performance. Overall, we are delighted with that.
“Offensively, I thought we were very good, we kept the ball for large periods of the game and we defended really well as well, so overall we are really pleased.”
Similarly, Oxlade-Chamberlain lauded the Reds’ “professional” performance and revealed how deep the desire was from the team was to control the game and walk away with a clean sheet.
Andy Robertson and James Milner led the charge as Liverpool squeezed Bournemouth into submission and made it “difficult” for the hosts to find a way back into proceedings:
“Robbo and Millie were probably shouting at me for the last 30 minutes to just make sure we keep the clean sheet…to make sure we kept it tight and be professional and not getting carried away going forward all the time.
“So, like Hendo said, it was really professional from start to finish really and I think it was probably the main thing we needed to improve on.
“In weeks gone by, we have gone 2-0 up and we just haven’t controlled the game well enough and we’ve made it difficult.
“Today, we learned from that and it was a really professional performance and some really top performances from all the boys.”
After the game, players swiftly took to Instagram to share their joy at picking up another three points to take their tally to 46 after 16 games.
For Curtis Jones, it was also an afternoon which saw his dream come true as he made his Premier League debut – a moment which left him both “proud” and thankful:
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Andy Robertson was not shy to hide that he and the team ‘love a day out to the seaside’, while Trent Alexander-Arnold commended Oxlade-Chamberlain’s goal and subsequent celebration:
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It was a “solid” and “strong” performance rightfully worth celebrating for Milner and Henderson:
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The opening goal scorers in Oxlade-Chamberlain and Keita, similarly, lavished praise on their teammates as “another big win on the road” was secured:
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And for Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez, the first clean sheet in 14 games was duly celebrated as they quickly turned their attention to the crucial European tie with Salzburg on Tuesday:
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The Reds’ 15th win of the campaign stretches their unbeaten run in the league to 33 games, a result which increases their lead over Man City to 14 points and 11 over Leicester – who play on Sunday.
Klopp’s men, however, will now turn their attention to Champions League action where Liverpool can secure their place in the last 16 with a win or draw at Salzburg.
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