OUR ELECTRIC THREE UP FRONT ARE JUST AS GOOD AS KLOPP’S
ASMIR BEGOVIC believes Bournemouth’s front three of Ryan Fraser, Callum Wilson and Josh King are every bit as good as Liverpool’s attack.
The veteran goalkeeper has made the bold statement of comparing the trio with Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mo Salah as his side’s excellent start to the season continues.
Certainly a Leicester defence consisting of World Cup star Harry Maguire, new England defender Ben Chilwell and Premier League winning captain Wes Morgan fell woefully short of handling the pace of Fraser, Wilson and King.
Now former Chelsea keeper Begovic believes Bournemouth deserve more credit after moving to fifth in the Premier League table with this easy-on-the-eye win.
‘Our front three are as good as anyone in the league,’ he said. ‘We are a very attacking team, we want to attack and score goals.
‘They are up there with Liverpool’s front three when they are on form. The way we play suits them. They have a great understanding and long may it continue.’
Begovic believes that England manager Gareth Southgate now needs to be making regular trips to the south coast, in particular to keep his eye on Wilson, Steve Cook and Lewis Cook. ‘A few of the lads should be in consideration for England, the lads have been doing it week in, week out,’ he said.
‘Callum, Steve Cook, Lewis Cook, those guys have got to be pushing. It is great recognition for the club if they do.
‘They are at international level. They have proved themselves at the highest level on a consistent basis. I know they are pushing and I’m sure they will get their rewards in the end.
‘We are playing a similar style to England. If the opportunity opens up, I’m sure the lads will take it.’
Leicester were the latest side made to look like mugs by the speed with which Bournemouth attacked. Fraser scored twice in the first half after exploiting weaknesses in the visitors’ defence while King’s penalty, after Ricardo Pereira had handled, made it three before the break.
Morgan was sent off for Leicester in the second half for a second booking before Adam Smith made it four. Not even a late penalty for James Maddison and an even later header from Marc Albrighton could spoil Bournemouth’s day.
Their manager Eddie Howe, who is fast becoming one of the most astute coaches in the Premier League, later revealed it was a conscious decision to focus primarily on pace in attack.
‘Coming into the Premier League it was something I identified we needed more of,’ he said. ‘The number of transitions you get, the number of moments where you’re dictated to by the pace you have in the team.
‘We were solely a possession team in the Championship and we felt it was something we needed to change coming into this level. We’ve tried to recruit players to do that. It’s the biggest part of our game that has improved since our Championship days.
‘As a centre half, the one quality I didn’t want to play against was pace. So maybe I’ve used that in terms of how I’ve built my teams.
‘I think it’s a massive commodity in football now and in the future it will only go even more that way. You need that in your team and we’re lucky we have it in a few areas.’
For Leicester, this was a bad day at the office and in a year of almost total success, a horrible day for Maguire. The central defender was booked early on and lucky to stay on the field after a late tackle on King.
Conscious he was on a final warning, Maguire did not make a tackle as Fraser got goal- side to make it 2-0.
Leicester manager Claude Puel admitted that he will have to consider resting the former Hull City man, who went to the World Cup and has played every minute for his club this season.
‘It’s a reflection of this,’ he said when asked about the matter. ‘It’s my responsibility to try to find a good balance, not just about the performance of the player but the balance of tiredness, of desire, of freshness. Perhaps the players didn’t have enough concentration because they were a little tired.
‘It’s not an excuse because I think the players’ focus, their desire, the mentality, the positive attitude were always present there. But it’s my responsibility to perhaps look at players who play all the time.’
Any break for Maguire is unlikely to come against Huddersfield Town next week, a game which Morgan will now be forced to sit out due to suspension.