Wasn't a pretty performance but another vital three points so well done Brendan and the boys. Looked a bit nervous last night at times but two clean sheets and six points should do a lot for our confidence going into the Arsenal game.
Anyway, I saw our players perform as follows:-
Same old Mignolet. Pulled off a few good saves but misjudged a couple of crosses and his distribution was poor at times. Never feel at ease with him in our goal.
Clyne - Superb. It is so refreshing to finally have a right back who can defend. Very solid performance all round.
Skrtel - Not a lot to do really. Handled most things well.
Lovren - Didn't look as comfortable as he did against Stoke and their pacey forwards gave him problems at times but a relatively steady performance.
Gomez - Defensively sound but offers nothing going forward which is expected really as he is not a natural full back.
Hendo - Couldn't get into the game really, maybe due to his injury.
Milner - Poor first half, didn't see much of the ball. Very good second half and showed his work rate. Awful free kick though
Can - His touch let him down at times. Gave the ball away too much as well. Not his best performance.
Lallana - Awful. He offers nothing. He keeps hold of the ball for too long and slows our attack down. Wouldn't be stating him at the moment.
Ibe - Same. Struggled to get into the last couple of games.
Coutinho - His usual self. Always looking to get on the ball and do something. Wasn't his best game by any means but he wasn't bad either. Don't know where we would be without him sometimes though.
Firmino - Didn't have enough time to settle in and make an impact.
Moreno - Wasn't on for long but offered a lot more balance to our team. A great run towards the end of the game too.
Benteke - Our best player. He won everything in the air and was a big handful all night. Showed a few nice tricks, touches and bits of pace too which was nice to see. Got off the mark with a goal so well done big ben.
I'm probably being a little harsh because it's now become a whole 'me against Benteke' thing on this forum but I do have a couple of criticisms. I counted three occasions last night where he held the ball up very well and did all the hard work but then turned and tried to switch the ball with a 40-50 yard pass in our own half. Bournemouth intercepted and regained possession with this but luckily didn't take advantage. Had we been playing against a better side they might have punished us. My other criticism there were a few times he was too static. I was sat in the lower centenary online with the Bournemouth's back four for most of the second half and I was purposely watching his movement. Sometimes, he was just too static for my liking.
BUT, like I said I'm being harsh probably, he played very well and was our best player last night. He showed plenty of nice passing and some good movement at times too. Hopefully it continues.