Liverpool must learn from defeat at Bournemouth, with a change involving Cody Gakpo and Darwin Núñez now necessary. Cristiano Ronaldo has sent a transfer message.
It was a chastening trip to the coast for Liverpool. Despite Jürgen Klopp making minimal changes to the team that ripped through Manchester United to win 7-0, it came away from Bournemouth empty-handed.
Beating the side that kicked off bottom of the league would have temporarily moved Liverpool into the top-four places, providing a vital lift ahead of the looming international break. Instead, momentum has stalled once again.
The best Klopp can hope for is that the old adage holds true: you either win or you learn. And it certainly seems like there may be a lesson to take away regarding new recruits Darwin Núñez and Cody Gakpo, neither of whom could make a telling impact on this occasion.
If that duo represents the new for Liverpool, Roberto Firmino is flying the flag for the old guard. He recently confirmed that he will leave the club in the summer on a free transfer, but his destination is as yet undecided. Indeed, is agent has revealed that the Brazilian refused to even speak to other teams until after he had made a final decision on his Anfield future and informed Klopp.
Liverpool fans will no doubt watch where he goes next with interest, and Cristiano Ronaldo has already sent him a transfer message of sorts.
All is revealed in the two Liverpool.com stories from today that you shouldn’t miss.
Lesson learned
It was not Liverpool’s day against Bournemouth. That alone is not a sufficient verdict, with Klopp’s side clearly needing to do more, but a horribly skewed penalty from Mohamed Salah just about summed it up.
But why have Liverpool suffered so many of these kinds of days against the ‘lesser’ teams? It seems there is a systemic problem, not unlike one that an earlier iteration of Klopp’s side faced. Once again, the manager must find a way of translating his counter-pressing methods into wins against deep-lying opposition.
Gakpo and Núñez could be at the heart of the solution. Klopp’s unexpected decision to effectively swap their positions around has worked wonders at times, but for certain games, it is becoming increasingly clear that he needs to switch back. The Uruguayan can do more damage to stubborn defenses through the middle, while Liverpool’s newest recruit might be better served out wide.
Ronaldo transfer message
Having respectfully held off until his Liverpool future was resolved, Firmino must now set about finding himself a new club. Hopefully that won’t detract from his focus for the remainder of the season, but it is inevitable that conversations will be taking place — perhaps as soon as the looming international break.
One avenue that seems as though it might be open to him is following Cristiano Ronaldo to Saudi Arabia. Indeed, according to one report, he could even join Ronaldo at Al Nassr.
But Firmino should heed a message from Ronaldo before making any such move. Ultimately, the former Real Madrid and Manchester United star made the move to Al Nassr because Europe no longer wanted him. The same is soon to be true of another apparent target, Sergio Ramos, who is turning 37.
Liverpool’s number nine is not in that boat just yet. He has more to give. With reports also crediting various European powerhouses with an interest, Firmino must take the Ronaldo lesson and retain his relevance.
