Cherries come back to stun Liverpool
Bournemouth have come back from two goals down to claim a 43 win against Liverpool in yesterday’s Premier League clash at the Vitality Stadium.
The Reds began the game on the front foot and duly took the lead in the 20th minute through Sadio Mane, who latched on to Emre Can’s ball over the top and, after getting the better of Nathan Ake, drilled past Artur Boruc.
Just two minutes later the visitors had doubled their lead, as Jordan Henderson’s defence-splitting pass found Divock Origi clean through on goal and, despite the presence of the onrushing Boruc, the Belgian rounded the stopper and fired home from a tight angle.
Midway through the first half the Cherries fans called out for a penalty when Ake was brought down by Roberto Firmino in the Liverpool box, but referee Robert Madley waved away the protests.
The half-time whistle saw a beleaguered Bournemouth side trudge back in, while the Reds appeared in high spirits, and nobody could have predicted how the second half was to pan out.
Junior Stanislas’s injury and subsequent withdrawal was arguably the catalyst for the action that was to unfold, as Ryan Fraser came on in his place,
The 22-year-old Scot wasted no time in getting involved, winning his side a penalty when he was brought down by James Milner in the box, and Callum Wilson duly converted from 12 yards out.
It looked like a false dawn when, 64 minutes in, Can collected Mane’s pass from about 20 yards out before curling a ferocious effort beyond the outstretched hand of Boruc into the top corner to put the Reds 3-1 up.
However, Liverpool were then caught out in the space of three minutes as Fraser once again played a part in his side’s goals, starting the move and then finishing low past Loris Karius for the second, and sending the cross in the box for Steve Cook to control and volley home for the third.
The latter stages of the game saw the visitors in complete disarray and the hosts gunning for a winner and, in the third minute of injury time, it came in the shape of Karius spilling a ball into his six-yard box and Ake rushing in to bundle the ball home.
Marouane Fellaini costs Manchester United victory at Goodison Park
Leighton Baines scored from the spot late on to earn Everton a 1-1 draw against Manchester United at Goodison Park yesterday evening.
The Red Devils had led since Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s 42nd-minute goal, coming at the end of a drab first half, but a late twist saw former Toffee Marouane Fellaini come off the bench and give away a penalty.
United, who should have been reduced to 10 men early in the match, have now won just one of their last nine league games and are nine points off the division’s top four.
The biggest talking point in a first half lacking any real entertainment came 16 minutes in, as Marcos Rojo lunged in on Idrissa Gueye with both feet off the ground but somehow escaped with just a yellow card.
Paul Pogba and Ramiro Funes Mori both tried their luck from more than 30 yards out, but neither could trouble the opposition keeper in a sign of things to come.
Just when the opening 45 minutes looked to be heading for a goalless conclusion, Ibrahimovic latched on to a simple ball over the top and made the most of former Ajax teammate Maarten Stekelenburg’s poor decision to race out of goal.
Ibrahimovic got his lobbed finish just about right, with the ball bouncing once, hitting the crossbar, spinning on to the post and then eventually crossing the line for his sixth goal in five outings.
The second half started with another contentious decision, as Ibrahimovic appeared to leave a boot in when landing heavily on top of Seamus Coleman, who was replaced soon after after failing to shake off the injury to his shoulder.
Bolasie hobbled off just a minute or so later, himself picking up an injury when shoved off the ball by Anthony Martial and landing awkwardly on his knee.
Those alterations came after a sixminute spell of United pressure, which culminated in Ander Herrera firing a shot against the crossbar, but De Gea was also required to keep out Mirallas’s low shot - his first save of the match.
Substitute Enner Valencia met a right-sided cross with eight minutes left to play, which he headed right at De Gea down the middle, but the Toffees’ big moment finally arrived just moments later.
Fellaini was brought off the bench for his 100th United appearance with the intention of retaining the slender lead, though his first act was to halt the run of Gueye inside the box which led to Michael Oliver pointing to the spot.
Baines, denied by De Gea once before from the spot, made no mistake on this occasion to ensure that Everton’s unbeaten run at Goodison Park since the start of the season continues.
Yesterday Bournemouth-Liverpool ................. 4-3 Mane 20’ (L), Origi 22’ (L), Wilson 56’ pen (B), Can 64’ (L), Fraser 76’ (B), Cook 78’ (B), Ake 90+3 (B) Everton-Manchester United ............ 1-1 Ibrahimovic 42’ (M), Baines 89’ pen (E) Today Middlesbrough-Hull City
Standings
Chelsea 14 Arsenal 14 Liverpool 14 Man. City 14 Tottenham 14 Man. United 14 West Brom 14 Everton 14 Stoke City 14 Bournemouth 14 Watford 14 Southampton 14 Crystal Palace 14 Burnley 14 Leicester 14 Middlesbrough13 West Ham 14 Sunderland 14 Hull City 13 Swansea 14
FA Cup 11 9 9 9 7 5 5 5 5 5 5 4 4 4 3 2 3 3 3 2 1 4 3 3 6 6 5 5 4 3 3 5 2 2 4 6 3 2 2 3 2 32 11 34 1 33 14 31 2 35 18 30 2 30 15 30 1 24 10 27 3 19 16 21 4 20 17 20 4 17 16 20 5 16 19 19 6 19 22 18 6 18 24 18 5 13 15 17 8 24 26 14 8 12 23 14 7 17 24 13 5 12 15 12 8 15 29 12 9 14 24 11 8 11 28 11 9 16 31 9
Yesterday Curzon-AFC Wimbledon ................... 3-4 Bolton-Sheffield Utd ......................... 3-2 Bristol Rovers-Barrow ...................... 1-2 Cambridge Utd-Coventry .................. 4-0 Eastleigh-Halifax ............................... 3-3 Millwall-Braintree ............................. 5-2 Notts County-Peterborough ............. 2-2 Stourbridge-Northampton ............ postp Woking-Accrington .......................... 0-3 Port Vale-Hartlepool ......................... 4-0 Today Lincoln City-Oldham