Against Bournemouth 2-1 in the 29th round on March 7, Liverpool were one step closer to winning the Premier League.

Sadio Mane is the hero of Liverpool’s victory. He passed the ball to teammate Mo Salah equalizing 1-1, shortly after the home team conceded. The Senegal striker then scored the goal himself, with a forte acceleration, beating the Bournemouth keeper to set the result 2-1 when the clock just scored 33 minutes.

The ungainly Van Dijk, Salah, Firmino and even Mane made Liverpool unable to score more goals in the remaining time. A 2-1 score means Liverpool have conceded for the first time and scored less than three goals against Bournemouth, after firing 17 goals and keeping clean sheets during the last five encounters. Coach Klopp is also more or less not satisfied, considering the babbling of the home defense.

However, after all, Liverpool can still smile the way the players share the joy with the fans at Anfield after the game. After two consecutive defeats, 0-3 at Watford in the Premier League and 0-2 at Chelsea at the FA Cup, Klopp’s teachers and students have returned to winning.

Not only being a little closer to the first Premier League title in history, defeating Bournemouth is also the spiritual boost needed to give Liverpool more confidence to prepare for the big battle in the Champions League mid-next week. Thursday 12/3, they will host Atletico Madrid with the task of reversing the situation after losing 0-1 away away in the first round of 1/8.

The desire to win after losing three of the last four matches makes Liverpool enter the game as if to eat the opponent alive. After only about five minutes of play, they were in complete control of the situation and at times made up to 9 in 10 Bournemouth players – not counting the goalkeeper – to retreat to the backyard to support.

In the midst of that ebbiness, Liverpool was poured into a cold water right after ninth minute. After a cross by Mane’s cross, the visitors counterattacked quickly. Host midfielder Joe Gomez made a mistake during a dispute with Callum Wilson, allowing him to pass to the right. Bournemouth coordinated another two beats, before Lerma stretched for Wilson to close the ball. VAR intervened, but still recognized the opener for the away team.