.jpg) The match took place at Anfield. | |||||||
| Event | 2022–23 Premier League | ||||||
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| Date | 27 August 2022 | ||||||
| Venue | Anfield, Liverpool | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Roberto Firmino (Liverpool) | ||||||
| Referee | Stuart Attwell (Birmingham) | ||||||
| Attendance | 53,328 | ||||||
The2022–23 Premier League match betweenLiverpool andBournemouth atAnfield, Liverpool, took place on Saturday 27 August 2022.[1] Liverpool won 9–0, which is thejoint-largest win in the history of the competition.[1] Previously, the feat had been achieved on three occasions in the Premier League; twice byManchester United in1995 and2021 againstIpswich Town andSouthampton respectively, and once byLeicester City in2019, also against Southampton.[2][3][4]
This match equalled Liverpool's biggest win in the top flight. They achievedthe same scoreline at Anfield during the1989–90 season againstCrystal Palace. This was also Bournemouth's worst ever top-flight defeat. Bournemouth managerScott Parker was sacked three days after the match.[5][6]
Liverpool were runners-up in the2021–22 Premier League season,[7] but going into Gameweek 4 of the2022–23 campaign, they were enduring their worst league start under managerJürgen Klopp.[8] After draws with newly-promotedFulham andCrystal Palace, they lost away torivalsManchester United. Meanwhile, Bournemouth were promoted from theEFL Championship in the previous season, and were experiencing a similarly disappointing start, their only victory coming at home toAston Villa on the opening day.[9]
Liverpool made one change to the starting line-up that lost their previous match away at Manchester United; Brazilian holding midfielderFabinho was preferred to veteranJames Milner. Centre-backVirgil van Dijk made his 200th Premier League appearance,[10] while midfielderJordan Henderson made 400th in the competition for Liverpool.[11]
Bournemouth made three changes to the team who lost 3–0 at home to then league leadersArsenal withLewis Cook,Ryan Christie andJaidon Anthony all coming into the starting XI.
In the ninth minute of the match, a minute's applause was held in tribute to Olivia Pratt-Korbel, a nine-year-old girl from Liverpool who wasmurdered by a trespasser in her home. This was the first fixture played by Liverpool since the shooting. In a press conference two days before the match, Jürgen Klopp had described the killing as "such a tragedy", before saying, "If we can help, we will".[12] On the day of the match, Klopp wrote in his programme notes: "Nine years old? How can this happen? How is it even possible? I cannot comprehend it and the more I think about it, the more difficult it becomes to understand. That it could happen in a city as special as this one where people look out for one another and stand together makes even less sense. I would like to pass on the sympathies of everyone at Liverpool to Olivia's family. They are in my thoughts and prayers."[13]
After the match, Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson removed his shirt with a vest underneath bearing the slogan: "RIP OliviaYNWA".[13] Later that evening, he tweeted, "That was for Olivia".[14]
Liverpool raced into a 2–0 lead within the first six minutes through aLuis Díaz header and long-range effort fromHarvey Elliott, the latter getting his first Premier League goal. Further strikes fromTrent Alexander-Arnold andRoberto Firmino made it 4–0, before Virgil van Dijk headed in from a corner just before half-time.[15]
Bournemouth defenderChris Mepham scored an own goal within a minute of the second half starting, before Firmino poked in the seventh, in the process reaching 100 goals for the club.Fábio Carvalho volleyed in his first goal for Liverpool before Díaz headed in the ninth with five minutes left.[16]
      Liverpool |     Bournemouth |
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Assistant referees:[17] | Match rules
|
| Statistic | Liverpool | Bournemouth |
|---|---|---|
| Goals scored | 9 | 0 |
| Total shots | 19 | 5 |
| Shots on target | 12 | 2 |
| Touches | 849 | 455 |
| Passes | 681 | 303 |
| Tackles | 12 | 20 |
| Clearances | 3 | 17 |
| Ball possession | 69.4% | 30.6% |
| Corner kicks | 8 | 1 |
| Fouls conceded | 6 | 5 |
| Offsides | 3 | 0 |
| Yellow cards | 0 | 1 |
| Red cards | 0 | 0 |
After the match, Bournemouth managerScott Parker said he was "not surprised" by the result, stating the team was "ill-equipped". He was subsequently sacked by the club on 30 August, with ownerMaxim Demin citing the need for "unconditional... [alignment] in our strategy to run the club sustainably", which was interpreted as a reaction to Parker's comments.[5][6] Parker was replaced as manager byGary O'Neil on the same day; first on an interim basis, then permanently on 27 November.[5][19][20]
The two teams played again in the reverse fixture on 11 March 2023 at theVitality Stadium. Bournemouth defeated Liverpool 1–0 through a first-half goal byPhilip Billing and a missed second-half penalty from Liverpool'sMohamed Salah. The score was seen as ashock, given the earlier result and the teams' respective forms – Liverpool were unbeaten in five after a historic7–0 win over in-form rivalsManchester United, while Bournemouth began the day at the bottom of the Premier League table.[21]
