Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has reflected on Saturday's Premier League game after the Reds suffered a narrow 3-2 defeat to Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium
19:58, 24 Jan 2026Updated 20:08, 24 Jan 2026
Virgil van Dijk has reacted to Saturday's game
Virgil van Dijk has reacted to Saturday's game(Image: Getty Images)
Virgil van Dijk pointed at the poor weather in Bournemouth when asked about his mistake during Liverpool's 3-2 loss on Saturday.
Liverpool endured a nightmare day at the Vitality Stadium. Evanilson opened the scoring during the first half after Van Dijk failed to deal with a bouncing ball. Alex Jimenez then doubled the lead when the Reds were down to 10 players, thanks to Joe Gomez's injury.
Arne Slot urged his Liverpool players, most notably Alisson, to kick the ball out of play to allow him to make a substitution and replace Gomez with Wataru Endo. But the Reds failed to listen to their manager and allowed Bournemouth to take advantage.
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Liverpool managed to get back into the game just before half-time when Van Dijk's effort found the net. Dominik Szoboszlai's brilliant free-kick then made it 2-2, but there was still enough time for Amine Adli to score a last-minute winner for the Cherries.
Liverpool skipper Van Dijk faced the music by speaking to Sky Sports. He noted the difficult weather conditions after being asked about Evanilson's goal. "The first goal was a difficult one to judge," said Van Dijk. "The wind was very tricky, so it was difficult."
When asked about Liverpool's failure to kick the ball out of play, Van Dijk added: "We were with 10 men, you can argue that we have to kick the ball out. It's not on Alisson. It's easy to say he should have done this. It is a split second.
Van Dijk endured a difficult game
Van Dijk endured a difficult game(Image: Getty Images)
"We decided to keep the ball as we had possession, and unfortunately for us, we conceded. Losing never feels good, especially as a Liverpool player."
Van Dijk also claimed he was fouled for Bournemouth's winner. He added: "What I felt on that pitch was that I was clearly blocked. The referee and the VAR don't give it.
"We will have to accept it. I can stand here and say it should not be given, but it was. It is what it is."
Yet Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp argued: "He was blocked off, he was fouled, but it was by his own player. Curtis Jones.
"Virgil is in a decent position, but as it comes in, and it's an incredible throw, he goes to attack it.
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"As he goes to win it, Jones, he trips over him. Then it all becomes about Adli. He's brilliant. He is the only one alive to the situation."
The result leaves Liverpool fourth in the Premier League table, one point ahead of Manchester United in fifth and two points ahead of Chelsea in sixth. Yet both of those teams have a game in hand on the Reds.
Bournemouth, meanwhile, have jumped up to 13th in the standings.