A late equaliser saw Liverpool failed to slump to a disappointing draw against Bournemouth.

Benik Afobe had put the Reds on the back foot early in the first half when he capitalised on Georginio Wijnaldum’s poor back pass to fire past Simon Mignolet.

But a moment of genius from Roberto Firmino played in Philippe Coutinho to strike the hosts level before half time with his second goal in as many games.

Divock Origi echoed the Brazilian’s haul when he was teed up by Wijnaldum to head home into the Kop’s net from close range.

However Jurgen Klopp’s side were forced to share the points as Joshua King scrambled home the Cherries’ second strike of the night in the 87th minute.

Here were the key talking points from Anfield:

Origi finally seizes his chance

 

The loss of Sadio Mane, far and away Liverpool’s best player this season, took away some of the shine from last weekend’s Merseyside derby win.

His injury has the potential to derail the end of the campaign but, luckily, it appears Divock Origi is determined to fill the hole left by the Senegal forward.

Buoyed by his goal in the derby, he looked confident and keen to build on an impressive second-half cameo against Ronald Koeman’s side.

He did just that, finding himself in the perfect position to head home from close range following excellent work from Georginio Wijnaldum.

Origi now has six goals from his last seven shots on target in the Premier League; a strike rate that would make even Europe’s elite marksmen envious.

The Belgian is by no means a direct replacement for Mane but if he can continue to get himself among the goals, the loss of Mane may not feel so drastic.

‘Small’ teams continue to haunt Anfield

 

It’s been a running theme of this season that Liverpool have turned up against the big teams and not the so-called lesser teams. It was more of the same here.

Even when they found themselves ahead, they were far from comfortable and their failure to kill off the game with a third goal came back to haunt them.

Once again it was another dropped two points in their hunt for a top four finish which really could have been avoided, much to Jurgen Klopp’s frustration.

With a run of games against more so-called ‘lesser teams’ to come, he must find a way of replicating the sparkling form his players showed against the top sides.

Similarly, he must find a way of invigorating Anfield against such teams.

When the occasion dictates, the stadium is at its atmospheric best, but fails to get as lively for the rest. That imbalance now translates to its on-field performances.

Reds now looking back, not up

 

Dreams of a second-place finish occupied Liverpool’s minds before this game kicked off. By full time, they were looking nervously looking over their shoulders.

Tottenham’s late turnaround at Swansea, coupled with the Reds’ dropped points, leaves Mauricio Pochettino’s side sitting five points clear with a game in hand.

Given their run of form and manager’s determination to not to slip up again as they did last season, it is hard to see Liverpool catching the Londoners.

Instead, Klopp and his players are looking to the chasing pack.

Manchester City stand just two points adrift with a game in hand while Arsenal could bridge their six-point gulf in the two they have to spare.

Once a foregone conclusion, the top four race could end up going down to the wire and Liverpool cannot avoid any further slip-ups in their bid for a Champions League return.

Move over, Juninho

 

Fresh from his belated return to form last weekend, Philippe Coutinho was once again back among the goals in this game.

He may not have been as electric as he was in the derby but still popped up to grab the equaliser and consequently write his name in the history books.

Coutinho is now the joint highest-scoring Brazilian in the history of the Premier League alongside Middlesbrough’s own diminutive playmaker Juninho.

Unlike his last strike though, he had a helping hand in this goal from compatriot Roberto Firmino, whose superb ball laid the chance on a plate for the diminutive midfielder.

Those two have a dangerous partnership and Liverpool will be praying that continues to bear fruit between now and the end of the season.