Bournemouth 0-2 Liverpool: Positives for Cherries despite end of unbeaten run

For the first time in 12 Premier League matches, Bournemouth suffered a defeat.

But Andoni Iraola's side can be proud of their efforts as they gave league leaders Liverpool a real scare, with only a brilliant second goal from Mohamed Salah (after he scored a first-half penalty) finally seeing them off.

The Cherries hit the post twice, forced Reds goalkeeper Alisson into a number of fine saves and had a potential goal narrowly ruled out for offside.

Liverpool boss Arne Slot was full of praise for Bournemouth, saying: "Only a few [opponents] have been as tough as this.

"This team [Bournemouth] has done so well in picking up these points against so many good teams and it's not by luck. They are intense, they have quality and it was always going to be very hard."

Bournemouth remain seventh, but are only one point behind fourth-placed Manchester City with the Vitality Stadium faithful dreaming of qualifying for Europe for the first time in the club's 125-year history.

If the team can reproduce this effort and level of performance then it will not be long before they go on another unbeaten run and rekindle those hopes of securing continental competition next season.