Howe: Bournemouth in another relegation battle

Eddie Howe has admitted his Bournemouth side are in another relegation battle after they were thumped 4-0 by Liverpool.

Egypt forward Salah became the first Premier League player to reach 20 goals in all competitions this season, with Philippe Coutinho, Dejan Lovren and Roberto Firmino also on target.

Jurgen Klopp’s men extended their unbeaten league streak to nine games under precious little pressure, getting back to winning ways after successive draws against Everton and West Brom.

The Reds’ routine south coast win tees up a tasty Premier League encounter at Arsenal on Friday night, given Liverpool leapfrogged the Gunners in the table here.

Bournemouth slipped to their sixth league match without a win, leaving Eddie Howe’s side just one point off the relegation zone.

“I think we have to look at ourselves before we look at the opposition today,” Howe told Sky Sports.

“We were flat, we never got going and we can’t turn the ball over like we did today because it is very difficult to defend when the numbers are against us.

“We are aware our style can leave us vulnerable and we left ourselves exposed at times. We didn’t get our game going today and when you don’t perform against the top teams, you’re going to get punished so it was very disappointing for us today.

“It’s going to be a tough challenge but I back us to come back strong from this. We’re in the same position as always with a relegation fight, first year, second year, so we’ve been here before. We know we have to come through a tough Christmas schedule and come back stronger next year.”