Liverpool join unfortunate group after Bournemouth collapse

Liverpool have joined a small and unfortunate group of Premier League sides who have lost after holding a 2-0 lead at half-time.

Jurgen Klopp’s men were stunned by Bournemouth on Sunday as the hosts scored three times in the final 14 minutes to snatch a 4-3 win in a thrilling contest at the Vitality Stadium.

Liverpool’s collapse was only the 23rd time in 1,062 matches in Premier League history that a team has lost after holding such a half-time advantage. That’s just 2.2 per cent.

The subject began to trend on UK social media after former England striker Gary Lineker questioned why a 2-0 advantage should be considered a “dangerous” scoreline for the winning team.

He tweeted: “When did 2-0 up become a dangerous score? Hear it so often now. Would like to know percentage of games lost from there? Suspect not high [sic].”

22 – There have been 1061 previous occasions of a team being 2-0 ahead at HT in the PL; only 22 have lost from that position (2.1%). Answer. https://t.co/CKwrMyWOuZ

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 4, 2016

Lineker followed up his comment with a second tweet shortly after Emre Can put Liverpool 3-1 ahead, which read: “Oh no! Liverpool are 3-1 up with a great goal from Can. A truly terrifying scoreline.”

He added at full-time: “WOW. Guess those percentages just shifted slightly. Well played Bournemouth.”