Liverpool beats Bournemouth at Anfield with benefit of Benteke's offside goal

A fluid and flowing match littered with pace and attacking zest by both sides was marred by a split-second non-decision by referee Craig Pawson and his linesman.

Brendan Rodgers' Liverpool side spoiled Bournemouth's first-ever top-flight trip to Anfield with a 1-0 victory Monday, courtesy of Christian Benteke's 26th minute goal.

Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson whipped a cross into the box just beyond the reach of an offside Philippe Coutinho - obstructing the view of 'keeper Artur Boruc - as the ball fell kindly to Benteke, who calmly tapped it in.

(Courtesy: @SkySportsMNF)

Several Bournemouth players were incensed with the decision, as Coutinho's effort to tap the ball in himself clearly interfered with Boruc.

This summer, the FA modified several rules for the betterment of the game, one of which was an altered offside rule, stating that a player in an offside position who makes an effort for the ball - regardless of if they touch or not - will nullify the goal.

Leicester City 'keeper Kasper Schmeichel was watching the match and shared his perspective on the offside goal on Twitter, saying: "From a goalkeeper's point of view, moving either towards or away from the ball. Any player within the width of the goal is affecting play."

To its credit, Bournemouth played well despite the result.

Bournemouth was first to put the ball in the back of the net when centre-back Tommy Elphick rose for a header that beat Simon Mignolet in the seventh minute, but it was deemed a foul as the defender placed both hands on Dejan Lovren's shoulders.

It's unclear if Elphick's contact with Lovren made a difference, but the ref had a clear view of the incident and perhaps rightly erred on the side of caution.

The Cherries were unlucky not to score in the match's opening 20 minutes, as Eddie Howe's squad poured forward but lacked in final product.

Following an opening weekend 1-0 loss to Aston Villa at Dean Court, the newly promoted Cherries have played two matches of attractive attacking football with nothing to show for it.

By the same token, Liverpool has maximum points with two 1-0 victories, one of which was gifted by today's erroneous goal. The other was a rather lethargic effort against Stoke City salvaged by an individual moment of brilliance, an 86th-minute Coutinho wonder-goal.