Liverpool’s unbeaten streak came to a crashing halt when they lost away to Bournemouth on the final kick of the game. After a loss like this, the boss and the captain need to take responsibility, and both Virgil van Dijk and Arne Slot did just that.
A 1-2 Punch
Liverpool were dominating the match in the first 20 minutes, but the Cherries scored both first-half goals just seven minutes apart.
"The first goal was a difficult ball to judge in the circumstances,” Van Dijk said. “The wind was very tricky. To concede that one is obviously is not an issue because I think we controlled the game before that, but then with 10 men, you can argue that maybe we need to kick the ball out, but to concede two goals in a short period is not good. But the goal I scored before halftime was important. In the second half, we tried hard to get back into the game with a great free kick, but again, the long throw-in."
A Cruel Game
Liverpool probably feel like victims of hard luck after battling back from a 2-0 deficit, only to lose at the death. Slot confirmed as much when speaking to Sky Sports.
"If you lose again in extra time after coming back from 2-nil down, then it can be a cruel game for us indeed. ... There were only 5-10 minutes in the first half where we did not have total control. For large parts of the first half and the second half. "It felt to me constantly that if we made it 2-1, we would be able to come back into the game. We were there, a lot of times in promising positions. Second half total dominance. It's fair to say in the last 10 minutes, it was more open. I could see my players were tired in the end cause we only had two days between the games."
Injury Update
Slot confirmed that Joe Gomez was forced off with a knee injury after colliding with Alisson on Bournemouth’s first goal.
“Joe got a knock from Ali,” Slot said. “His knee went into somewhere [in his leg] . I think it was bone on bone. You could see he was not able to continue. Ali had some swelling in his knee. I don't know if Joe is going to train in two or three days, that is difficult to say, but it was clear he couldn't continue today.”
Defensive Crisis?
Joe Gomez’s injury and Ibrahima Konate’s absence create a bit of a defensive crisis. Wataru Endo is a solid player, but not a long-term solution. Milos Kerkez struggled and was replaced by Andy Robertson. Robertson played well but has been heavily linked with a move to Tottenham. Even Virgil van Dijk struggled today. If that continues, Slot and Liverpool will have some tough choices to make.”
LFC Globe Verdict
I have been a Slot defender through the ups & downs of the campaign, but the boss made some head-scratching decisions today. Why change formations? If you want to start Cody Gakpo for Ekitiké, let him play as a lone striker up top and keep Salah as an attacking winger on the right. Don’t mess with a good formation that saw you unbeaten in the last 13. Also, why not have the team play the ball out when you are down to 10 men after the Gomez injury? That decision led directly to a Bournemouth goal.
