Andoni Iraola marked his return to Vitality Stadium with a hard fought 1-0 win as his new club, Liverpool, edged past his former team before the international break. Alexander Isak notched his fourth league goal this term, condemning Bournemouth to another winless outing at home in the top flight.
The breakthrough arrived in the 57th minute when Cody Gakpo drove forward and whipped a cross into the danger zone that the Cherries defence couldn’t clear. Isak reacted quickest, poking the ball in from point blank range before sprinting to celebrate with the visiting supporters, earning himself a yellow card from official Michael Oliver in the process.
Iraola, who guided Bournemouth into Europe before departing for Anfield this summer, was given a genuinely warm reception by the home crowd. Yet his side struggled to click for long spells. Evanilson had come closest for the hosts earlier, glancing a header that Alisson tipped behind in the 18th minute. Liverpool also saw Florian Wirtz wrongly ruled offside after clipping the crossbar, while new arrival Bradley Barcola tested Djordje Petrovic and Dominik Szoboszlai’s long range free kick drifted narrowly wide.
The result lifts Liverpool to sixth on nine points from five matches and stretches their run to three consecutive clean sheets, plus four victories in five outings across all competitions. Bournemouth remain stuck on three points, sliding to 17th, still searching for their maiden Premier League success under new boss Marco Rose following a fine midweek triumph over Real Sociedad in the Europa League.
