Liverpool returned to winning ways with a 2-1 victory over Bournemouth.

The visitors had stunned Anfield with an early goal as Callum Wilson started and finished a counter-attack after dispossessing Joe Gomez in his own half.

Jurgen Klopp’s side equalised just 15 minutes later when Sadio Mane pounced on a stray pass before squaring to Mohamed Salah to drill a low shot home.

Mane added a goal in his own right in latching onto a through ball from Virgil van Dijk and slotting past advancing Cherries goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.

Here were the key talking points from Anfield:

Calm Milner sees Reds through

 

A drop-off in Liverpool’s usually high standards of late has been attributed to the loss of Jordan Henderson’s calming presence in the heart of midfield.

Since their captain limped out of their Champions League last 16 first leg with Atletico Madrid, Jurgen Klopp’s side have been noticeably out of sorts.

But times of trouble often see leadership manifest from other areas. In the case of a hard-fought win over Bournemouth, it was the left-back position.

Not only did James Milner fill the void of Henderson’s absence but also Andy Robertson, who sat out this game as a precaution for Atleti’s looming visit.

Even before kick-off, the 33-year-old made his presence felt by drilling into his teammates the need to fight for everything as they were warming up.

Milner implored the Reds to throw their body on the line for the cause and led by example with an emphatic goal-line clearance late on in the second half.

His lung-busting run averted a near-certain equaliser for the visitors after Ryan Fraser lobbed Adrian after the Spanish stopper had come off his line.

Now just three games away from a hat-trick of Premier League titles, Milner continues to earn a rightful place in the story of Liverpool’s emphatic season.

Three and easy?

 

Following three defeats in their last four games, Bournemouth would be the perfect antidote for Liverpool to restart their Premier League procession.

At least that was the theory.

In spite of the talk about the Cherries’ perilous top-flight status, they were determined to follow Watford’s lead and further delay their hosts’ coronation.

Klopp’s side only need three more wins to clinch the title but they threaten to be hard-fought, particularly given a testing few weeks now on the horizon.

Beyond the European showdown with Atletico, Liverpool face a trip to Everton and the visit of Crystal Palace to Roy Hodgson’s one-time stomping ground.

Unless Manchester City drop points in their next two games, the looming clash at the Etihad Stadium will take on an added level of significance.

There is still no danger of the title eluding Merseyside this season but ending a 30-year domestic drought was always going to have its fair share of pitfalls.

Salah puts Owen in the shade

 

Michael Owen’s name continues to be spoken in hushed tones at Anfield.

Turning down a chance to return to the club you supposedly once loved to join Newcastle tends to have that effect on battle-hardened Kopites.

So does a former Liverpool idol choosing to sign for Manchester United.

Yet Owen’s dwindling legacy is now being eclipsed by on-field matters after Mohamed Salah matched his feat of 20+ goals in three consecutive seasons.

Beyond their double-digit hauls, the pair are not so different; they have also won the Premier League’s Golden Boot back-to-back as Liverpool players.

Salah only needs two more goals to reclaim top spot from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Jamie Vardy with the pair currently tied on 17 goals apiece.

Comparisons with both Luis Suarez and Fernando Torres invariably are made whenever the Egyptian sends more individual and club milestones tumbling.

Owen, however, remains the benchmark for Liverpool’s modern marksmen, albeit probably for not much longer if Salah has anything to say about it.

Anfield still topping the charts

 

To lose once is unfortunate, twice is careless and three times is chaotic.

Given their recent results, cynics had just cause to believe that Liverpool would potentially succumb and allow another record to fall by the wayside.

Klopp’s players knew that more than two straight league defeats in a row, something never realised on their manager’s watch, was at stake.

A 22nd home win of the season took the European champions ahead of the long-standing domestic record previously held by Bill Shankly’s class of 1972.

The league title may have eluded Anfield for the past 30 years but they have continued to dominate the lofty standards of the English game.