The Premier League is no stranger to a crazy game, but Bournemouth vs. Liverpool on Sunday may go down as one of the most zany of the season.It’s an often trotted out cliché to say that a game is one of two halves, but the clash at the Vitality Stadium really was, with Jurgen Klopp’s Reds utterly dominant for the first 45 minutes before a collapse, triggered around midway through the second period, saw them throw away a two-goal lead and crash to just their second loss of the season.

Now with over 24 hours having passed, it’s time to dissect the match and see just where it went wrong for the title-chasing Merseysiders, who entered the game anticipating a routine victory over a side expected to be towards the bottom end of the division when game 38 has been played.

We at Football FanCast have been looking at the numbers, and here are FIVE stats that show how it all fell apart…

Defensive shuffling…

Some Liverpool fans were worried when they saw the team-sheet ahead of kick-off. An ankle injury ruled Joel Matip out for the trip to the Dorset coast and although Lucas has proven himself to be a relatively decent option at centre-back, he’s not an orthodox choice in the role.

As shown, Klopp hasn’t been able to field a reliable defensive partnership through much of his reign, with Lucas and Dejan Lovren one of 18 different combinations he’s been forced to field since his arrival at the club.

It’s often said that a settled back three (goalkeeper included) can spread confidence through any team and when the pressure started to come at 1-3 up, the way the Reds faltered illustrated that. It’s also worth noting that Lovren’s best performances have come alongside Matip this term, with the Cameroonian clearly the leader of the two.

The main Mane…

With a goal and an assist, Mane’s job looked to be done at 1-3 up, so his exit due to a slight injury was, although a concern, not seen as a massive deal by Kopites watching on.

Withdrawn on 69 minutes, just seven minutes later Ryan Fraser made it 2-3, then shortly after (two minutes, to be precise) Steve Cook netted what may be the goal of his career to make it 3-3.

As soon as Mane hobbled off, Liverpool lost the pace from wide that was frightening Bournemouth, which gave their full-backs freedom to push up and robbed the Reds of an outlet to open up the Cherries on the counter-attack.

Lionel Fraser…

Ryan Fraser was truly excellent at the Vitality Stadium. The Scot, who has been away from the club on loan in recent times, came on ten minutes after the half-time interval for the injured Junior Stanislas and ran the show.

As the numbers demonstrate, he was influential beyond his goal and assists, with his two tackles showing that he tracked back, while his key pass and dribble is an illustration of his effective performance in the final third.

Shots fired…

It may be harsh to judge Loris Karius after letting in a penalty-kick, but the below stat was dropped by Squawka when Callum Wilson’s effort nestled in the net…

The German went on to concede another three times and although he did make a smart save to keep Benik Afobe out when the striker went through one-on-one, he really could have done more to stop Ryan Fraser’s relatively tame right-footed effort, while his inability to handle Steve Cook’s speculative shot from distance, which allowed Nathan Ake to net the winner, may render his relationship with Reds fans beyond repair.

Ake’s rejuvenation

Liverpool fans may remember that Nathan Ake netted against them last season while on loan at Watford, and he’s quickly becoming one of those bogey players for the Reds.

The defender was good at both ends of the pitch, though, and it should be noted that he was denied what looked to be a clear penalty when Roberto Firmino felled him in the box during the first half.

Interestingly, Ake is on loan from Liverpool’s title rivals, Chelsea. That winner was a bitter blow, then.