Preview: Liverpool welcome Manchester City in high-stakes clash
Goals, goals and some more goals are a guarantee when Manchester City travel to Anfield in the English Premier League!
On a chaotic Sunday in the Premier League, high-flyers Liverpool were brought down to earth by a spirited Bournemouth while their arch-rivals Manchester United's woes continued as they were held to a 1-1 draw at Everton.
The Reds have impressed many this season, with their barnstorming attacking displays, but their defence has always felt a bit suspect and that flaw was fatally exploited in a 4-3 loss.
Sadio Mane opened the scoring for the visitors, utilising his searing pace to maximum effect, latching on to Emre Can’s thorough ball and packing home before Cherries keeper Artur Boruc could react.
Barely two minutes later, Divock Origi doubled their lead with a wondrous finish from an acute angle after being forced wide by Boruc and Liverpool were looking good for the win.
However, James Milner fouled substitute Ryan Fraser in the box in the 56th minute and Callum Wilson coolly slotted past Loris Karius to put Bournemouth back in the game.
Emre Can scored a peach of a goal, his first-timed shot from the edge of the box flying into the top corner, restoring the visitors two-goal cushion in the 64th minute.
Substitute Fraser then scored in the 76th minute after a quick Bournemouth counter-attack caught Liverpool cold, igniting the home crowd into believing something special was on the cards.
The equaliser came via an unlikely source, Steve Cook brilliantly controlling Fraser’s cross before finishing into the bottom corner in the 79th minute.
And the Cherries weren't done just yet, as Cook’s long-range effort was spilled into the path of Nathan Ake, who didn't make a mistake from 4 yards to complete a miraculous comeback.
With the result, Liverpool slip to third place, four points behind leaders Chelsea while Bournemouth move up to 10th place
Meanwhile, in the other game on Sunday, Manchester United’s run of draws continued with 1-1 result at Goodison Park. Not for the first time this season, the Red Devils went ahead and dominated large parts of the game, but were undone by a late equaliser.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s lob was adjudged to have crossed the line thanks to the goal-line technology the Premier League uses after Maarten Steklenburg had been caught in no-mans land.
Despite going into the interval ahead, United were unable to build on their advantage and struggled to break down a determined Everton side who were happy playing on the counter-attack.
Marouane Fellaini’s 100th appearance for the English giants turned out to be a forgettable one, as within minutes of coming on, he made a stupid challenge on Idrissa Gueye in the box. Referee Michael Oliver had no hesitation towards pointing to the spot and Leighton Baines scored from yet another spot-kick, despite David De Gea’s best efforts.
United were lucky to even finish the match with 11 men as first Marcos Rojo and then later, Zlatan Ibrahimovic went into reckless challenges but somehow weren't sent off.
For both teams, it was not the result they would have wanted, as United remain in sixth place while Everton drop to eighth, one point behind.
Advertisement
