It was third time lucky for Alexander Isak after a wayward first-half effort and a second-half cross that ballooned over the bar to much amusement from the home crowd, but Liverpool's win at Bournemouth was built as much on their increasingly solid defence. The Swedish forward took his fourth goal this season well and the chants of "Isak's a Red" from the travelling supporters, long after the final whistle, told you all you needed to know. Yet it is the lack of goals Liverpool are conceding that really deserves highlighting.
They were far from perfect on Andoni Iraola's Cherries return but were solid defensively. His side have now kept three consecutive clean sheets in the Premier League - the first time Liverpool have done so since September 2024 - and did not give up an xG of more than 0.76 in any of those. For all the talk of a front three who all cost in excess of £100m, Liverpool are becoming a harder side to beat under Iraola.
"The more times they play together, the more solid the defensive line becomes," said Iraola, whose side remain unbeaten in all competitions. "Virgil [van Dijk], Jeremy [Jacquet], Ronald [Araujo] and Milos [Kerkez] - they're getting the connections and becoming more solid." Two reliable campaigners, goalkeeper Alisson and centre-back Van Dijk, were superb, with Alisson making a great first-half save to deny Evanilson. But arguably the biggest positive of Liverpool's campaign so far has been the emergence of Jacquet.
"I think he has showed a lot of good things so far this season. Still so young, a lot to learn and a lot to give. Let's keep it going," said Van Dijk.
Jacquet, 21, has started every Premier League game since making the £60m move from Rennes in the summer and is poised to make his France debut over the international break after getting the call-up from boss Zinedine Zidane. "I'm happy for him as he also received his first international call-up. He's also very young and adapted really well to the Premier League," said Iraola.
"The first games, he was physically feeling the change of rhythm and I had to substitute him. "Today has been a step forward. He looked solid until the end.
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