Slot Relieved as Liverpool Edge Bournemouth in Controversial Clash

Arne Slot admitted that Liverpool had an element of fortune in their 2-0 victory over Bournemouth on Saturday, which extended their lead at the top of the Premier League to nine points. Mohamed Salah was the hero for Liverpool, scoring both goals in a match full of controversy and narrow calls.

Salah opened the scoring with a penalty awarded for a Cody Gakpo challenge that appeared to be more a result of the forward tripping over his own feet than a foul by Lewis Cook. Gakpo was also in an offside position when the penalty was awarded, but referee Darren England’s decision was upheld by VAR, much to the frustration of Bournemouth.

The hosts’ hopes of a comeback were further dashed when David Brooks had an equaliser ruled out for a marginal offside against Milos Kerkez in the build-up. Salah then sealed the win for Liverpool with another late strike, taking his tally to 21 goals in 23 Premier League games this season.

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Liverpool’s remarkable unbeaten run in the league now stretches to 19 matches, with 17 victories from their 23 outings under Slot, who replaced Jurgen Klopp in the close season. They are now firmly on course for an English record-equalling 20th title, with Arsenal sitting in second place.

Slot Relieved as Liverpool Edge Bournemouth in Controversial Clash

“If you want to win here, maybe you need a bit of luck because the margins are so small,” Slot reflected after the match. “Our penalty was just not offside, their goal on 1-1 was on the margin offside, they hit the post twice. We had our chances as well, but it was a close call for us to win this game. We weren’t unlucky, let’s put it this way.”

Despite the loss, Bournemouth made life difficult for Liverpool, with Antoine Semenyo and Marcus Tavernier both hitting the woodwork. Semenyo was also thwarted by a brilliant save from Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker. With this result, Bournemouth’s impressive 11-match unbeaten streak in the league came to an end.

Slot acknowledged the difficult challenge Bournemouth posed, saying, “I can come up with three, four, five examples where we didn’t have the luck or the decision we deserved this season. That’s always the difficult thing in football; people will always say there’s that luck for Liverpool or for the team that is number one at the moment.”

The victory sets up a crucial week for Liverpool, who will now focus on overturning a 1-0 deficit in the League Cup semi-final against Tottenham on Thursday. Trent Alexander-Arnold was forced off with an injury during the match, and Slot expressed concerns over his availability for the upcoming fixture.

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