By Lewis Thompson
Liverpool head to the Vitality Stadium on tonight to face AFC Bournemouth in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.
In the last 10 years, under Brendan Rodgers and Jurdgen Klopp, Liverpool have won six from eight games at Bournemouth, scoring 21 goals and conceding seven.
Since adopting their current name in 1971, the Cherries have come out victorious twice at their home ground against the Reds.
Although Liverpool’s most recent trip ended in defeat, this does not paint an accurate picture of our largely successful time spent on the south coast.
So, let us take a trip down memory lane to review Liverpool’s best-to-worst performances at the Vitality Stadium in recent years.
December 2018 – Bournemouth 0-4 Liverpool.
17 days before Christmas, Klopp’s side – with the help of an Egyptian King – equalled a club record of 17 games without defeat in the Premier League to take their 45th point from the last 51 on offer.
Joel Matip and Virgil van Dijk paired at the back with James Milner and Xherdan Shaqiri forming the right-hand flank.
Mo Salah’s hat-trick – the 50th scored by a Liverpool player in an away league game at the time – sent the Reds to the top of the table as they made it back-to-back 4-0 wins at the Vitality Stadium.
On Nathan Ake’s 100th league appearance, it was his partner, Steve Cook, who was left red faced as his attempt at a clearance resulted in a backheel into his own net and Liverpool’s third.
After the game, Salah awarded his man-of-the-match award to captain James Milner who became the 13th player to make 500 Premier League appearances.
Alisson’s clean sheet meant he was the first player to remain unbeaten in his first 16 appearances for Liverpool, a record previously held by Javier Mascherano.
Liverpool sat one point clear of Man City after 16 league games with Eddie Howe’s Bournemouth in eighth.
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December 2017 – Bournemouth 0-4 Liverpool
In the other 4-0 win, one year prior, Liverpool became the first team in English football’s top flight to win four consecutive away games by a margin of three or more goals.
Brighton 5-1, Stoke 3-0, and West Ham 4-1 all came before.
Four different goal scorers – Philippe Coutinho, Dejan Lovren, Salah and Bobby Firmino – sent the Reds into fourth but still remained 18 points behind Manchester City who went on to reach 100 points that season.
Although defeated, Jermain Defoe must’ve been licking his lips before kick-off when he read a team sheet that included a centre-back pairing of Lovren and Ragnar Klavan in front of Simon Mignolet in goal.
Eddie Howe’s side consisted of eight English players – Joshua King, Nathan Ake, and Asmir Begovic the exceptions – and the defeat meant the Cherries were without a win in their last six Premier League games.
December 2019 – Bournemouth 0-3 Liverpool
In another December clash, and the season Liverpool won the league, the Reds travelled to the Vitality Stadium on the 7th day of the month, weeks before the world became aware of the Coronavirus.
Klopp’s side were perched top of the league and three points would move them 11 points clear in their pursuit of the Premier League.
Liverpool had won all of their last five meetings against the Cherries, scoring 17 goals, and conceding none.
Naby Keita was among the starting eleven with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain part of the front three.
Howe had a very strong side at his disposal as Dominic Solanke and Callum Wilson formed a lethal attacking partnership with Aaron Ramsdale between the sticks.
Oxlade-Chamberlain put the Reds 1-0 up before Keita made it two before the break.
Mo Salah, then – on his 100th Premier League appearance – scored his 63rd league goal to extend Liverpool’s club record unbeaten run to 33 league games.
Only Alan Shearer (79), Ruud van Nistelrooy (68) and Sergio Aguero (64) had scored more in their first 100 games in the division.
At that point, Liverpool had won their last 17 games in the league that kicked off at 3 p.m. on a Saturday.
Liverpool then went on to secure number 19 finishing just 18 points ahead of City.
April 2016 – Bournemouth 1-2 Liverpool
In Jurgen Klopp’s first trip to the Vitality Stadium, this was his starting 11:
Danny Ward; Connor Randall, Kolo Toure, Lucas Leiva, Brad Smith; Sheyi Ojo, Kevin Stewart, Joe Allen, Jordan Ibe; Firmino, Daniel Sturridge.
The game happened three days after Liverpool’s dramatic 4-3 Europa League win against Borussia Dortmund, hence Jurgen made 10 changes to his side.
Firmino and Sturridge had made it 2-0 at the break but Joshua King’s stoppage-time strike proved too late for a Cherries comeback.
The win moved Liverpool up to eighth… yes, eighth, and marked Bournemouth’s eighth home defeat of the season as Leicester City sat comfortably on top spot.
Liverpool had set a new record as they used 31 different players during this campaign which was more than they had used in any other season in the competition’s history.
December 2014 – Bournemouth 1-3 Liverpool
What is it with these December clashes?
Bizarrely, we don’t play the Cherries again until the end of January after Wednesday night.
On the 17th day of the month, a Raheem Sterling brace set up a League Cup semi-final meeting with Chelsea as Liverpool beat Championship leaders Bournemouth.
That felt very weird to type…remember those glory days?
Brendan Rodgers’ side included Brad Jones between the sticks, Lazar Markovic on the wing, and even more stars such as Rickie Lambert and Fabio Borini on the bench.
Sterling’s brace either side of Markovic’s strike was the first time he had found the net since September – earning Liverpool their third win in 11 games.
At kick-off, only 10 league places separated the two sides with Liverpool 11th in the league, and Bournemouth top of the Championship on a 12-match unbeaten run.
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January 2014 – Bournemouth 0-2 Liverpool
At the start of that year, Liverpool progressed to the fifth round of the FA Cup beating Howe’s Bournemouth 2-0.
Goals from Chelsea loanee Victor Moses and Daniel Sturridge secured the win for the Reds in what turned out to be a far from impressive win.
A Bournemouth side – 16th in the Championship – held their nerve for long periods with Liverpool arguably second-best most of the game
Rodgers lined up with Brad Jones in nets, and a back four including Martin Kelly, Aly Cissokho, Toure and Martin Skrtel.
Steven Gerrard joined Jordan Henderson, Coutinho, and Moses in midfield behind a glorious front two of Luis Suarez and Sturridge.
December 2016 – Bournemouth 4-3 Liverpool.
Back to the December fixtures, and following a plane crash involving the Brazilian football team Chapecoense, a minute’s silence was held before every football match during this weekend.
For Liverpool, in the famous luminous green, it looked to be business as usual when they found themselves 2-0 up at halftime through Sadio Mane and Divock Origi.
Callum Wilson’s penalty sent Loris Karius the wrong way 10 minutes into the second half, and with Mane coming off five minutes after Emre Can’s stunner had made it 3-1, the job was seemingly done…
I do miss that big German in midfield at times, but anyway, I think everyone knows what happened next, so feel free to skip this last part.
Ryan Fraser pulled one back (Karius should’ve saved), Cook turned into the Brazilian Ronaldo to make it 3-3 (Alisson would’ve saved), and Ake’s tap-in with 90+3 on the clock won his side the game (what was Karius doing).
There had been 1061 previous occasions of a team being ahead 2-0 at halftime in the Premier League at that point, and Liverpool became the 23rd team to lose from that position.
March 2023 – Bournemouth 1-0 Liverpool
The most recent away day, and one no one really wants to remember, so the less it’s talked about the better.
Liverpool faced Gary O’Neil’s side on the 11th day of the month having scored seven against Erik Ten Hag’s Man United the week before.
Yes, we beat Manchester United 7-0 last season in case you’ve forgotten.
The Reds had also beaten Bournemouth 9-0 in the reverse fixture that season and were thirsty for three points to boost their chances for Champions League qualification.
Klopp started with a familiar Liverpool side as Harvey Elliot and Stefan Bajcetic were tasked with running the midfield alongside Fabinho.
The Cherries, who started the weekend bottom of the league, went 1-0 up through Philip Billing in the 28th minute.
Then, Mo Salah’s (missed) penalty – our first of the season – with 20 minutes to go in the second half, pushed Bournemouth out of the relegation zone.
Liverpool had conceded the opening goal in 17 of their last 30 games in the Premier League at that time and lost ten of their 19 away games in all competitions.
Let’s hope tonight’s performance will be worthy of the top spot on this list.
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