Liverpool manager Arne Slott said after the game that his team was to blame for their 3-2 loss to Bournemouth, citing wind, congestion and injuries.
Amine Adli effectively ended Liverpool’s 13-game unbeaten run with the final kick, tying home a gasping winner to end Liverpool’s seventh defeat of the Premier League campaign.
Liverpool remain fourth after the defeat, 14 points adrift of leaders Arsenal and could be pushed out of the Champions League places when Manchester United play Chelsea on Sunday.
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Highlights of the Premier League match between Bournemouth and Liverpool
The defeat came three days after United beat Marseille 3-0 at home in the Champions League, and despite Slot saying “the only one to blame is ourselves” in his post-match press conference, the United manager was quick to criticize the short turnaround between games, leaving his players “depleted of energy” on Saturday.
“Maybe that sums up our season. Every time something else happens, it’s special. We give in, but the way we give in. The only person to blame is ourselves,” he said.
Added Slot: “I think it’s safe to say we could have made it 3-2 a little bit earlier. Some of our players were running out of energy and you can’t criticize that.
“Two days ago we were away in Europe. We are the only team to play the Champions League in two days.”
“It’s another away game against one of the most competitive teams after an away game.”
Why Slot and Van Dijk blame the wind for their losses
In addition to the games piling up for a team full of injuries, Slot, along with captain Virgil van Dijk, cited the wind in the aftermath of the loss.
Van Dijk had a forgettable afternoon after failing to clear the ball for Bournemouth’s first goal from Evanilsen, while Adley’s late winner for the second came after playing in Alejandro Jimenez before tripping team-mate Curtis Jones in the confusion.
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Amine Adil scored Bournemouth’s most dramatic win over Liverpool.
speaking sky sportsVan Dijk said, “I think the first goal was a difficult ball to judge due to the situation. The wind was also tricky.
“It was a difficult ball to judge, but I take full responsibility.”
Commenting on the late winner, Van Dijk added: “What I felt on that pitch was that I was clearly blocked. The referee and VAR didn’t recognize that.”
“We have to accept it. I can stand here and say it shouldn’t have been given, but it has been given. That is what it is.”
Slot was also asked about Van Dijk’s mistake for the opener, where he defended the player and agreed that the wind played a role.
“It’s not entirely fair to blame Virgil for the first goal,” he said. “You can see how much of an impact the wind had throughout the game.”
“He wasn’t the only one struggling with the wind.”
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk was unhappy with Bournemouth’s late winner.
Are you outnumbered or outnumbered?
The mountain that Liverpool climbed after scoring their first goal stretched further than the scoreline.
Joe Gomez suffered an injury while trying to stop the opener, which Slot later confirmed was a knock caused by “bone-to-bone contact” with Alisson Becker.
With Gomez injured, Liverpool played with 10 men for nine minutes and decided not to kick the ball for a substitution, allowing Bournemouth to score a second goal.
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Jamie Redknapp has called the time Liverpool took to replace Joe Gomez ‘amateurish’ as Bournemouth doubled their lead while the defender was injured.
“The second goal was when we were down by 10 points. After the first goal, Joe Gomez had to come off. He wanted to try and he thought he could, but he couldn’t,” Slott said.
“I tried to scream at them to get the ball out, but we were pretty comfortable. When we lost the ball, it was the other way around. But even though we were 10th, the way we conceded that goal was nothing special because we were down 10th.
“It’s just the wingers surprising our full-backs when we could have done better.”
Another Liverpool game, another injury.
Gomez will now join the growing list of players left out of the slot, with Conor Bradley, Federico Chiesa, Alexander Isak, Ibrahima Konate, Giovanni Leoni and Stefan Bajcetic all missing the game.
Slot’s initial comments suggested he did not want to make excuses, but the Liverpool manager explained that the injury problems plaguing his team were why they were unable to replicate success in all competitions as they did last season.
Slot continued: “I have to give credit to my players. You lost 2-0 but we showed the mentality and fitness to come back against one of the strongest teams in the league and they only have to play once a week.
“That’s not an excuse. Clubs like Liverpool are used to playing three times a week, but we play these games mainly with the same players.”
“Last season we had three long-term injuries. As you can see in the lineup, I decided not to play Hugo (Ekitike). It’s not because I don’t like him,” Slot said.
“The reason is that we have one number 9 available for the coming weeks and months. We have to manage his minutes because there are so many games to play.”
They are therefore liable for wind, fixture congestion and injuries on top of that.
