As the season comes to an end, Arne Slot will be hoping to laugh at last week’s defeat to Nottingham Forest. Since that woeful performance, Liverpool have made light work of Milan in the Champions League and thrashed Bournemouth – a perfect response to the first setback of the Dutchman’s tenure.

While Forest embarrassed Liverpool with a disciplined performance, Bournemouth let Ryan Gravenberch and his midfield colleagues dictate play and then scored the game-deciding first goal. Luis Díaz took personal responsibility for the damage with two goals and Darwin Núñez, looking to prove a point, scored a third to banish memories of seven days ago.

Liverpool thought it was going to be another difficult game after an eventful opening four minutes in which Ryan Christie was booked 20 seconds after kick-off for a foul on Díaz and Antoine Semenyo had a goal disallowed. The winger thought he had given Bournemouth a surprise lead after he slotted home at the far post following good work from Justin Kluivert as Liverpool contemplated a second successive home defeat in the Premier League.

The assistant referee saw no problem with the goal, but the video referee silenced the fans who had made the 840km round trip from the south coast by acknowledging the clear offside. Most annoyingly for Bournemouth, Semenyo was not necessarily due to start the game.

Kepa Arrizabalaga arrived at Bournemouth on loan from Chelsea in the transfer window, desperate to prove why he was once the most expensive goalkeeper in football history. He made a series of aesthetically pleasing saves to deny two shots from Díaz and quickly denied a chance from Mohamed Salah. All that was forgotten when Ibrahima Konaté hit a long ball forward; Arrizabalaga thought he could win it outside the box, only to realise his folly too late when Díaz rounded him and shot into an empty net.

The mistake was still on his mind as Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold linked up on the halfway line. The full-back sprinted 30 yards and slipped a pass to Díaz, who slotted the ball under Arrizabalaga to score Liverpool’s second goal in less than three minutes. If anyone had feared a repeat of the defeat to Forest, their fears were allayed.

All of Bournemouth’s problems had their origins in South America, as Núñez played a one-two with Salah before running forward down the right wing and cutting in for Salah to fire a shot into the far corner. The Uruguayan was visibly emotional as he celebrated in the corner. It was his first start of the season and his first goal in 15 Liverpool games. Slot had banked on Núñez to perform well this week and he repaid the faith.

The dominance was similar after the break, with Liverpool unlucky not to extend their lead through a mixture of last-minute defending and less accurate finishing. Liverpool were out of sight, however, allowing Slot to send Federico Chiesa on for his Premier League debut in front of an enthusiastic Anfield crowd and give Díaz and Núñez a well-deserved standing ovation, while Caoimhin Kelleher, replacing the injured Alisson, comfortably blocked the few shots he had to save. Liverpool had their breakdown but are back on their feet.