Video That penalty miss from Salah

Video That penalty miss from Salah

Liverpool were brought back to reality with a jolt as they suffered a shocking 1-0 defeat at the hands of struggling Bournemouth on Saturday, with Mohamed Salah missing a crucial penalty.

The Reds had been in high spirits after their historic 7-0 victory over Manchester United the previous weekend, but their hopes of using that result as a springboard to push for a top four finish in the Premier League were shattered by the hosts.

Philip Billing took advantage of Liverpool’s woeful defending to put Bournemouth ahead early on, and Salah missed the opportunity to equalize when he shot wide from a second-half penalty.

Despite becoming Liverpool’s record scorer in the Premier League era with two goals against United, Salah’s failure to add to his tally of 130 goals condemned the team to their first defeat in six league games.

Liverpool, who were in fifth place, now lagged three points behind Tottenham ahead of the latter’s game against Nottingham Forest later that day. In addition to damaging Liverpool’s top four aspirations, the loss was hardly ideal preparation for their Champions League last 16 second leg clash with Real Madrid on Wednesday. The Reds needed a miracle in the Spanish capital to overturn a 5-2 deficit.