Mohamed Salah brought up 30 Premier League goals as Liverpool knocked off Bournemouth 3-0 in their Premier League encounter at Anfield this evening.
On a night where all of Liverpool's front three were on the scoresheet, Sadio Mane notched first as he converted Jordan Henderson's seventh-minute cross at the second attempt.
Salah reached his landmark courtesy of a skilful header at the near post, running onto a delivery from Trent Alexander-Arnold to loop the ball over Asmir Begovic.
Roberto Firmino provided the icing on the cake with a 90th-minute third, dragging a shot back into the bottom corner after a driving run from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Relive how the action unfolded on Merseyside courtesy of Sports Mole's minute-by-minute updates below.
You can read our match report from Anfield here, and all of today's football scores here. That is it from me, but stay with Sports Mole for minute-by-minute updates of Tottenham vs. Man City from Wembley as Pep Guardiola's side aim to end their losing run. Thanks for joining me today!
"We've got Salah. Oh Mane, Mane. Roberto Firmino..." The Liverpool fans will be in full voice again tonight after their front three all score in a comfortable win over Bournemouth. The Reds move to within a point of second-place Manchester United, while the Cherries remain 11th in the table.
SUBSTITUTION: Firmino comes straight from his celebration to the bench as Dominic Solanke gets a brief cameo.
Firmino provides the icing on the cake for Liverpool with a 90th-minute third, sneaking a shot into the bottom corner from 15 yards out after being picked out by Oxlade-Chamberlain following a driving run. All three of Liverpool's front three have now netted - they really are a formidable trio.
The Cherries have been the better team in the last 10 minutes but they have left it too late. Wilson has made a big difference and Liverpool wouldn't have had it so easy had he started.
SUBSTITUTION: Ragnar Klavan is on for Dejan Lovren, who headed straight down the tunnel. Klopp will hope that is not too serious with Joel Matip and Joe Gomez already out injured.
CHANCE! Karius is caught a little out of position as Wilson skilfully brings down a King pass in the left channel and shoots across the German's goal, but just wide of the post.
SAVE! Eighty-two minutes into the game and Karius has his first save to make, reacting quickly to push away Dan Gosling's shot during a scramble in the Liverpool box.
Bournemouth's best move of the match sees the ball spread out to Surman on the right, and he cuts back to whip in a dangerous cross which Lovren is forced to head behind for a corner.
SUBSTITUTION: Klopp turns to his bench for the first time as James Milner, who was Liverpool's captain at the Etihad on Tuesday, replaces one of the goalscorers - Sadio Mane.
CHANCE! Firmino hasn't had much of a sniff of goal himself today but has just wasted a chance to get on the scoresheet and wrap this game up for Liverpool by trying to be too clever in the box. He dallies on the ball and Cook eventually clears his weak shot off the line.
SUBSTITUTION: And now Bournemouth make their final change as Cook goes off and Andrew Surman, once a midfield regular, comes on for his first league appearance since December.
Salah has been knocking on the door in the last 10 minutes and he now has his 30th Premier League goal of the season. Alexander-Arnold comes up with another wonderful cross, dropping the ball over Ake and into the near post area from which Salah skilfully lifts his header over Begovic.
It is a masterful finish that any goalscorer would be proud of, dare I say it, even Harry Kane.
PENALTY APPEAL! Salah wants a penalty for a push in the back by Ake, as he tried to get on the end of a great Robertson pick out. Ake does have his hands out but there is very little contact as the Egyptian throws himself to the floor.
Salah might be feeling the pressure of the Golden Boot race now that Harry Kane has laid claim to every Tottenham goal. He has shown some selfishness tonight which has previously been absent from his game, including here when he took a shot on which was blocked by Cook.
That was one of the first occasions this evening that Salah has been able to run at the Bournemouth defence. Ake has otherwise shackled him very well, dealing with him much better than much more experienced and established centre-backs in the Premier League this season.
CHANCE! Alexander-Arnold wins the ball off Daniels in his own half before driving forward and feeding Salah, who should have returned the favour as the full-back continued his run down the right, but instead took on a weak left-footed shot which was easy for Begovic.
Liverpool are continuing to enjoy as much possession as they did in the first half, but are not creating the barrage of chances that they did before the break. The visitors will be encouraged that they are still in a position to launch a late flurry which has worked brilliantly for them in recent weeks.
SUBSTITUTION: An unhappy return to Anfield for Ibe, although he gets a nice round of applause from the Liverpool fans as he is replaced by Mousset - his 17th appearance off the bench this season out of 25.
SHOT! Van Dijk lets fly from range and hits his shot cleanly, but Begovic is happy to shepherd the ball over his crossbar.
YELLOW! A poor touch from Oxlade-Chamberlain sees him squander a shooting chance on the edge of the box, and the ball actually gets so far away from him that he picks up a booking for lunging in on Ibe in his attempt to get it back, despite Henderson's tackle being a lot worse.
Henderson is very, very lucky to get away without a yellow card for a high, studs-up challenge on Defoe as the Bournemouth striker made a clearance on the edge of his own box. It is the type of tackle that has actually resulted in straight red cards this season.
Good defending from Ake who shows the speed to keep up with Salah and muscle him off the ball on the right side of the box.
Mane forces Oxlade-Chamberlain wide but the England midfielder still gets a good cross in which Francis heads away. Liverpool have picked up where they left off - on the front foot.
Howe may be content to sit in and try to survive another 20 minutes before switching things up, but that is a dangerous game. If they want to change the pattern of the game immediately, switching to a back four would be a start. Fraser and Daniels have been pushed far too deep.
Trent Alexander-Arnold has arguably been the pick of the Liverpool players in that first half, building on his potentially career-making double showing against Leroy Sane. The full-back has a great range of passing and quality crossing ability, as well as natural athleticism.
Jermaine Jenas has described him as a combination of Kieran Trippier and Kyle Walker, which makes him a pretty good fit for Gareth Southgate's England World Cup squad this summer.
Sadio Mane got the Reds on the scoresheet early on, following up the rebound to his own header, and while it has been pretty easy going for Liverpool since then they have failed to put Bournemouth out of reach.
It has been another excellent first-half performance from Liverpool at Anfield, but Bournemouth are showing more backbone than Man City did last week and have managed to get to the break just one goal down.
CHANCE! Bournemouth drop off Lovren as he strides out from defence and delivers a cross which Mane meets with a header which he cannot glance on target. It was a similar run to the one which led to the first goal but this effort did not have the same accuracy.
A mark of how much Bournemouth are on the back foot - Jermain Defoe is in the right back position and Mane makes mincemeat of him with a stepover and blistering change of pace. An important clearance from Cook ensures that nothing comes from the Senegalese's good work.
A spread of play from Oxlade-Chamberlain is stylishly brought down on his chest by Alexander-Arnold, who gets in an early cross which requires the attention of Ake at the near post.
The Cherries continue to battle their way to a half-time deficit which they will be very pleased with on the balance of play, which has been completely dominated by the hosts.
Great awareness and vision from Salah as he turns the ball into the path of Mane on the volley, but there is just a bit too much juice on the pass, and Begovic is first to it.
SHOT! Oxlade-Chamberlain has scored a couple from outside of the box this season and he lines up another here, only to drag it wide with an ugly swing of his right foot.
Ake makes a really important defensive header just as Salah was preparing to head Mane's cross towards goal.
Defoe finally has something to chase down but Karius is off his line quickly to clear, showing the authority of a confident goalkeeper by shoving Lovren out of the way while doing so.
It is very nearly happening for Liverpool, in terms of a second goal. Salah threads a pass through the Bournemouth defence which is just out of reach of Wijnaldum, and moments later Fraser is fully stretched to intercept a Henderson ball which would have released Robertson free down the left.
Henderson delivers another good ball into the box, this time towards Robertson at the back post and the Scotsman's header across goal is just too heavy for Mane who would otherwise have had a simple tap-in for a second.
Bournemouth have the ball in the net through King, but a long time after the flag was raised when the return pass from Daniels found Fraser offside from a perfectly-worked corner routine, nearly.
The visitors have done pretty well to keep the score down to one considering how lively this start from Liverpool has been. If they can hang in there until half time, Bournemouth might fancy another second-half comeback that has been a staple of their season, particularly recent weeks.
Henderson knocks a ball over the top for Mane but Cook follows his run and tackles at the expense of a corner.
SHOT! Begovic is called upon again as Salah takes an Alexander-Arnold pass beautifully on the spin and gets a shot away which is straight at the Bosnian in the middle of the goal.
SAVE! Alexander-Arnold takes on the responsibilty of the resultant free kick and tests Begovic with a shot which was curling away from the goalkeeper, albeit at a nice height.
YELLOW! A lovely turn from Firmino starts a rapid Liverpool attack and Ake has little choice but to bring down Oxlade-Chamberlain as he threatened to run into the penalty area.
Oxlade-Chamberlain releases Mane with a superb through-ball in between two centre-backs, but the offside flag is raised as Begovic comes off his line to deny the goalscorer a second.
It has been a decent response to falling behind from the visitors. Defoe has made a couple of good runs - it will be up to new England midfielder Lewis Cook to pick them out.
Ibe will be determined to make an impression today and he drives Bournemouth forward for the first time, before unleashing a 25-yard strike which was always rising above Karius's goal.
Liverpool's early pressure tells with a goal as Sadio Mane gets his 17th of the season! Begovic makes a good save after Henderson picked out the unmarked Mane for a header, but the goalkeeper pushed it straight back into the path of the Senegalese who swept home the rebound.
Bournemouth have indeed started with a back three, although it is more of a back five at present with Liverpool forcing them back in the early stages. Howe will hope that is the recipe for a first ever win at Anfield, building on their previous best result of a 2-2 draw here last campaign.
MISS! Salah should have league goal number 30 but he cannot direct a wonderful Alexander-Arnold cross inside the post from six yards out. The Egyptian had moments before dribbled into the area and only been denied a shooting chance by a last-ditch tackle from Steve Cook.
KICKOFF: After a minute of warm applause to honour the Hillsborough victims, and an eye-catching mosaic tribute in the Kop end, referee Chris Kavanagh, who is relatively new to the Premier League panel, blows his whistle to get the action underway.
PREDICTION: Log this match in the 'good for the neutrals category' because I am expecting goals today. Liverpool should be full of confidence and I think they will outscore Bournemouth 3-1.
With just over five mintues until kickoff, the players are preparing to emerge onto the pitch, where they will observe tributes to honour the victims of the Hillsborough disaster on its 29th anniversary.
Should Bournemouth pull off another major scalp today, they would climb above Newcastle United and back into the top half of the table. Victory for Liverpool would lift them to within a point of Manchester United, whose game in hand on the Reds is away to the Cherries on Wednesday.
The versatility of Simon Francis and Ryan Fraser gives Bournemouth the option of switching to a back three, if that is not indeed how they start the game. It was with a back three that the Cherries produced their best performance and result of the season as they deservedly won at Stamford Bridge.
Considering that these two teams love to get on the front foot, it is little surprise that there have been goals galore in this fixture in recent years - 19 in the previous five meetings.
With King, Defoe, Ibe and Fraser in the lineup, Bournemouth have plenty of pace and skill to get at Liverpool, although that played perfectly into Salah's hands at the Vitality Stadium earlier this season as he ripped the Cherries apart on the counter, so the visitors must find a better balance today.
Josh King has scored in each of Bournemouth's last two away games, and also in each of his last two appearances. The Norwegian previously netted in three in a row in March 2017.
However, Bournemouth have proven more difficult to beat on the road in recent months, drawing six of their last 10 away games in the league, although they have won just once in that period.
The Cherries have only won two of their 17 Premier League away games against the traditional top six with both of those victories coming at Chelsea. That has included 13 defeats and one at Anfield.
This is one way for the Liverpool players to get to the game. Maybe their team coach was savagely vandalised?
RESULTS: All of the focus in today's 3pm Premier League kickoffs was on the bottom of the table, and it was Crystal Palace and Huddersfield Town who picked up vital wins. Burnley also moved closer to an unlikely European qualification. View all of the results here.
Salah scored in Liverpool's 4-0 thrashing of the Cherries in the reverse fixture in December, but it is Firmino who has been Bournemouth's biggest tormentor in this fixture. The Brazilian has been involved in four goals in his last four games against Bournemouth - two goals and two assists.
The Egyptian is one goal away from becoming the eighth different player to score at least 30 goals in a single Premier League season, and the first African player to reach that milestone.
Of Salah's 29 league goals this season, 17 of them have been at Anfield. The last Liverpool player to score more at home in a single campaign was Fernando Torres in 2007-08 with 21.
Liverpool are unbeaten in their last 18 Premier League home games, with 11 wins, which is the longest run in the division after Manchester City's defeat to rivals United last weekend. It is also the Reds' longest run since a 31-game sequence ended in 2009.
On the Liverpool injury front, Klopp has not given up hope of Emre Can playing again before the end of the campaign, or for the Reds ever again as the German seemingly prepares to leave on a free transfer. Adam Lallana, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip are also sidelined for the hosts.
Junior Stanislas was one of those late goalscorers - in the 2-2 draw with Watford at Vicarage Road. The winger has just undergone knee surgery so won't play again this season, while defenders Adam Smith and Tyrone Mings are also injury absentees for the Cherries on Merseyside today.
Although they appear to have little to play for over the remainder of the season, Howe has not allowed his players to slip into holiday mode. Bournemouth have scored in the 89th minute or later in their last three games, a never-say-die attitude which has earned them five crucial extra points.
Bournemouth have won a league-high 18 points from losing positions in the Premier League this season.
Ibe made a promising start to his senior Liverpool career, making 58 appearances for the Reds, but his progress seemed to stall in his first season at Bournemouth. The 22-year-old has scored two goals and supplied six assists this term so is taking steps in the right direction again.
Lys Mousset also scored as a substitute at the Vitality Stadium but has to be content with a place on the bench as Jermain Defoe keeps his place up top. Bournemouth's other changes sees former Liverpool winger Jordon Ibe return in place of Marc Pugh, adding even more pace to the attack.
Eddie Howe makes two changes from last weekend's 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace, rewarding the man who bagged an 89th-minute equaliser - Josh King - with a start at the expense of Callum Wilson.
There is no individual recognition for Bournemouth's players but the Cherries will be pretty pleased to have survived another Premier League season without much threat of relegation. A run of only two defeats in eight matches has lifted them 10 points clear of trouble.
One of Salah's teammates and another member of Liverpool's feared front three may count himself unlucky not to have made that shortlist. Firmino has 14 goals and seven assists in the league this campaign, and another 10 goals and seven assists across the cup competitions.
As expected because of his 29-goal haul in his first season at Anfield - and first real crack at English football, Salah headed the PFA nominations when they were announced this morning.
It is a very different lineup from the one which drew 0-0 with Everton in last weekend's Merseyside derby, with Roberto Firmino, Andrew Robertson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and PFA Player of the Year favourite Mohamed Salah returning to the team from the start.
Jurgen Klopp is not letting his Liverpool team rest on their laurels after their Champions League triumph, as he names 10 of the same starting XI which won at the Etihad Stadium in midweek, with Jordan Henderson returning from continental suspension to replace James Milner in the midfield three.
BOURNEMOUTH: Begovic; Francis, Cook, Ake, Daniels; Fraser, Cook, Gosling, Ibe; King, Defoe
Subs: Boruc, Simpson, Smith, Surman, Pugh, Mousset, Wilson
Subs: Boruc, Simpson, Smith, Surman, Pugh, Mousset, Wilson
LIVERPOOL: Karius; Alexander-Arnold, Van Dijk, Lovren, Robertson; Henderson, Wijnaldum, Oxlade-Chamberlain; Mane, Firmino, Salah
Subs: Mignolet, Milner, Klavan, Ings, Solanke, Woodburn
Subs: Mignolet, Milner, Klavan, Ings, Solanke, Woodburn
