Liverpool manager Arne Slott said his team was solely responsible for their 3-2 defeat against Bournemouth, citing the post-match wind, the crowded venue and injuries.
Amin Adli slotted home a last-minute winner with virtually the final kick, ending Liverpool’s 13-game unbeaten run with their seventh Premier League defeat.
Liverpool remain fourth after the defeat, 14 points behind leaders Arsenal, and could be out of the Champions League places when Manchester United and Chelsea play on Sunday.
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Premier League Bournemouth vs Liverpool highlights
The defeat came three days after the Reds defeated Marseille 3-0 away in the Champions League. Despite Slott saying in his post-match press conference that “we only have ourselves to blame”, the Reds manager was quick to criticize the short turnaround between games, which led to players “running out of energy” on Saturday.
“That probably sums up our season. Every time we do something special, no matter how we concede, we concede. We only have ourselves to blame,” he said.
Slott added: “I think it’s fair to say they could have made it 3-2 a little earlier. Some of our players ran out of energy, but you can’t criticize them for that.”
“Two days ago we had to play an away game in Europe. We are the only team to play the Champions League in two days.
“After an away game, it’s the next away game against the most competitive team.”
Why Slott and Van Dijk blamed the loss on the wind
Apart from the number of games in a team with a lot of injuries, Slott also spoke about the wind after the defeat, along with captain Virgil van Dijk.
Van Dijk had an unforgettable afternoon after failing to clear the ball for Bournemouth’s Evanilsson’s first goal, allowing Alejandro Jimenez to score his second with onside, then tripping teammate Curtis Jones in the confusion for Adli’s late winning goal.
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Amin Adil snatched Bournemouth’s most dramatic win against Liverpool.
Van Dijk told Sky Sports: “I think the first goal was a ball that was difficult to judge in the circumstances. It was also difficult with the wind.”
“It was a difficult pitch to judge, but I take full responsibility.”
Regarding the late goal, Van Dijk added: “What I felt on that pitch was that it was clearly blocked. Neither the referee nor VAR made a decision.”
“We have to accept it. I can stand here and say we shouldn’t give it to you, but that’s what happened. That’s the way it is.”
Slott was also asked about Van Dijk’s mistake in the opening game, to which Van Dijk defended his player and agreed that the wind had something to do with it.
He said: “It’s not entirely fair to blame Virgil for the first goal. You’ll see throughout the game how big of a factor the wind was.”
“He wasn’t the only one suffering from the wind.”
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk complains after Bournemouth’s late win
Are they outnumbered or outnumbered?
The mountain Liverpool had to climb after their first goal was much more than just the scoreline.
Joe Gomez was injured trying to prevent the opening goal, but Slott admitted the impact was due to “bone-to-bone contact” with Alisson Becker.
Due to Gomez’s injury, Liverpool were forced to play with 10 men for nine minutes and chose not to kick the ball out due to substitutions, allowing Bournemouth to score their second goal.
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Jamie Redknapp doubled Bournemouth’s lead by criticizing the time Liverpool took to replace Joe Gomez while the defender was injured as “amateurish”.
“The second goal was when we were down 10 points. After the first goal, Joe Gomez had to go. He wanted to try and I thought he could, but he didn’t,” Slott said.
“I tried to scream at them to throw the ball out, but we were very comfortable. When we lost, it was the other way around. But even if we were down by 10 points, the way we conceded that goal, especially not because we were down by 10 points.
“It was just a winger who surprised our full-backs in situations where we could have done better.”
Next game for Liverpool, another injury
Conor Bradley, Federico Chiesa, Alexander Isak, Ibrahima Konate, Giovanni Leoni and Stefan Bicetic are all absent for this game, with Gomez joining the list of absent players in the slot.
Slott’s initial comments suggested he did not want to make excuses, but the Liverpool manager explained that the injury problems plaguing his side explain why they have not been able to repeat their success in all competitions like last season.
Mr. Slott continued. “I have to give credit to the players. Even though we lost 2-0, we showed the mentality and fitness to turn things around against one of the fittest 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 games a week, but we mainly play with the same players.
“Last season we didn’t have 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,” Slott said.
“That’s because we have a No. 9 that we can use in the coming weeks and months. We have to manage his minutes because there are so many games to play.”
So we only have ourselves to blame, plus the wind, crowds at the match venue, and injuries.
