LONDON — Jurgen Klopp found himself at a loss to explain how his Liverpool team, having beaten Manchester United 7-0 last Sunday, flopped to a 1-0 defeat to Bournemouth.
Mohamed Salah missed Liverpool’s first Premier League penalty of the season in the second half and Klopp’s team could not find an equaliser to Philip Billing’s first-half goal, damaging hopes of a top-four place.
“It was never really our game,” said Klopp. “We were dominant in the first half but mostly we put ball in at the wrong moment against a compact side … the game was played the opposite of the way we wanted. I think we played for 95 minutes the game Bournemouth wanted us to play.”
Chelsea might finally be finding its stride under Graham Potter while Liverpool´s up-and-down season took another nosedive in the English Premier League.
Chelsea made it three straight wins in all competitions for the first time since October by beating Leicester 3-1 away, another sign that the expensively assembled team is starting to gel under Potter.
Manchester City again looked far from its best but still kept the pressure on leader Arsenal by beating Crystal Palace 1-0 away thanks to a second-half penalty by Erling Haaland.
Liverpool’s surprising loss threw away much of the momentum it had generated recently after a woeful first half of the season, and Klopp´s team is six points behind fourth-placed Tottenham in the fight for the final Champions League place, albeit with a game in hand.
“This game was a massive knock,” Klopp said according to AP. “You know how it is with knocks; you have to take them and see how big the scars are and go from there.”
Tottenham beat Nottingham Forest 3-1 at home after Harry Kane scored twice in the first half.
Bournemouth began the day in last place but climbed up to 17th, with Everton also leaving the relegation zone after Dwight McNeil scored just 35 seconds into a 1-0 win over Brentford.
Leeds fell to 19th place despite rallying for a 2-2 home draw against Brighton.
The battle against the drop is exceedingly tight, though, with only four points separating Leeds from 12th-placed Crystal Palace.
CHELSEA THRIVING, LIVERPOOL STUMBLES
After knocking out Borussia Dortmund from the Champions League to reach the quarterfinals, Chelsea followed with a first away win in the league since Oct. 16.
“It´s been a really good week,” said Potter, whose job looks a lot more secure than it did last weekend.
Kai Havertz netted one of the best goals of the day to make it 2-1 just before halftime by volleying in a delicate lob over the goalkeeper after being teed up in the area by another lofted ball from record signing Enzo Fernandez.
Ben Chilwell put Chelsea ahead in the 11th minute after meeting a high cross into the area with a low first-time shot from a difficult angle. Patson Daka equalized in the 39th. Mateo Kovacic added the third for Chelsea in the 78th.
Chelsea remained in 10th place but just five points behind fifth-placed Liverpool after Klopp´s side showed their inconsistency once again.
Philip Billing scored the only goal in the 28th minute after being teed up in the box by Dango Ouattara and Bournemouth managed to contain a Liverpool attack that was rampant against United last weekend.
Mohamed Salah summed up a frustrating afternoon for the Reds when he missed a penalty in the 70th by sending his effort wide, the first time he has missed the target from the spot in the Premier League.
HAALAND SCORES AGAIN
For 77 minutes at Selhurst Park, it looked like Palace manager Patrick Vieira could have a big say in the title race between his two former clubs and tilt the balance further in Arsenal’s favour by taking points off City.
But after defending resolutely for so long, Palace came undone at a corner and gave away a cheap penalty when Michael Olise clumsily clattered into Ilkay Gundogan in the area.
Haaland made no mistake from the spot, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way for his 28th league goal to make up for having missed a stellar chance in the first half.
