Adam Lallana will come up against his former club tomorrow evening, as Liverpool take on Bournemouth in our first home game of the new Premier League season.
Lallana, who of course joined the Reds from Southampton last summer, enjoyed a brief loan spell with the Cherries way back in 2007 – playing four times in all competitions at the age of just 18.
He returned to Southampton and quickly established himself as a regular in their team, helping them earn back-to-back promotions and settle to life in the Premier League, before making his record breaking move to Anfield.
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It was a difficult first season on Merseyside for the England international, as both he and the team struggled for form, but it’s all been much more promising so far this season – with two goals for him in pre-season and a winning start to our new top flight campaign.
Speaking about the importance of maintaining that momentum next week, he told our official website: “I’m sure some people wouldn’t have expected us to get that win, whether it was because of what happened in the last game of last season or the fact that Stoke is just generally a tough place to go.
“A lot of teams would probably settle for a point there, but we managed to get all three. Now it’s important we don’t drop points on Monday night and that we still have a 100 per cent league record come the end of the game.
“It’s important we start fast and get the crowd behind us because that’s such an important asset for us. When Anfield is loud and noisy, it’s a great atmosphere and can help us in our performances and in picking up wins.”
As for Bournemouth, Lallana is confident that they can continue their fine form of last season and stay up this year, so long as their success doesn’t cost us any points!
“We played against them last season in the League Cup and they’re a great club who try to play football in the right way,” he said. “All credit to them – it’s a remarkable story.”
“They’ll be up for it, trying to get their first points on the board. As they’ve just come up, they’ll be anxious to get those points and that could drive them on even more, so it’s going to be a difficult game for us.”