VITALITY STADIUM, BOURNEMOUTH // Liverpool with netting a brace. In a tight game, the Reds' Egyptian talisman made the difference.

Salah put his side in front from the penalty spot in the first half when was deemed to have been tripped. But in a tight encounter on the south coast, was never going to roll over.

Antoine Semenyo and Marcus Tavernier both hit the frame of the goal and the Cherries kept pressing but Salah made the points certain with around 15 minutes to play when he curled a brilliant shot into the top corner to double the Reds' lead. Here are the five things spotted as the game unfolded.

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Liverpool has no injury concerns at the moment, with Slot able to pick such a strong roster that . Contrast that with Arsenal, the Reds' main title rival, and the difference is clear. While one scrambles to find more attacking firepower, the other could leave out an Italian international who was excellent midweek.

Darwin Nunez but he returned here alongside Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota. While there is always going to be a clamor for more signings — Liverpool can still get better in certain areas and work is being done on that ahead of the summer — it is worth remembering that Slot already has the strongest roster in the country.

Salah, given a rest midweek in the Champions League, made the most of the break. He was sharp here, and once again made the difference in the scoreline. There was a goal in each half that saw Liverpool get the points. Salah got both.

Trent Alexander-Arnold really struggled with Antoine Semenyo and Justin Kluivert at times. At one stage, a Bournemouth chance from a set-piece came when Arne Slot and one of his coaches were screaming at him to move into a different position where the ball was eventually delivered. Had he been there, he wouldn't have been blocked from the dead-ball routine.

In possession, Alexander-Arnold didn't have the influence that he often does. It wasn't an abysmal showing but rather a difficult afternoon that he managed to get through. Going off with an injury, Conor Bradley did well to get up to the speed of the game quickly when it would not have been easy to do so.

Bournemouth fans went through the full songsheet of chants about the referee and Darren England, on his first appearance in the middle involving Liverpool since his calamity on VAR in the Spurs match last season, was always likely to prove controversial in some way or another. As it was, he had a decent enough game.

There was minimal contact on Cody Gakpo for the penalty kick, but some of the other things that Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola, who was eventually booked, was complaining about were correct. The Spaniard fumed at all manner of things during the match, but rarely had real cause to. It was a strange exaggeration of what was unfolding as the home crowd became more frustrated.

Milos Kerkez has in the last few weeks, with left-back a potential priority for the Reds to address in the summer. But center-back Dean Huijsen, brought in from Juventus last summer, is another who is having an extremely impressive season.

Both of those positions are potentially ones for Liverpool sporting director to be thinking about over the next few months. Previously with the Cherries, he signed Kerkez and surely played a part in Huijsen being targeted given his extensive knowledge and contacts in Serie A.

Huijsen and Kerkez both impressed here. The former was very good at center-back alongside the even more impressive Illia Zubarnyi while Kerkez has speed, power and an eye for a pass. The Hungary international largely did well against Salah, even if he could do nothing with the Egyptian scoring twice.

Ahead of Arsenal hosting Manchester City later in the weekend, Liverpool has piled the pressure on Mikel Arteta's side. It essentially now has to win that big match to keep pace at the top, and then keep on winning with Slot's outfit showing no signs of slowing down. This was one game where there was a good chance of Liverpool dropping points, but it didn't.

Up next? Another tricky away trip at Everton for the final Merseyside derby at Goodison Park. Slot's men have got one of their most difficult-looking fixtures out of the way with his south coast trip. A similar test awaits next time out in the Premier League.