The verdict from the Vitality Stadium after Liverpool lost 3-2 to Bournemouth despite battling back from two goals down, only to throw the game away
Dominik Szoboszlai cut a desolate figure after the defeat
Dominik Szoboszlai cut a desolate figure after the defeat(Image: CameraSport via Getty Images)
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As the rest of his team-mates trudged off the Vitality Stadium pitch, heads bowed in disappointment, a despondent Dominik Szoboszlai stood motionless, hands on hips, unable to comprehend the climax to this game.
He, more than any other in this Liverpool squad, does not really deserve what is happening this season. Eventually ushered off the pitch by Mohamed Salah, it was clear this cut deep for the No.8 and how could it not after another all-action display, once more across multiple positions, yielded nothing.
It looked for all the world here that Liverpool were heading for a fifth successive draw of 2026 in the Premier League after Virgil van Dijk's header at the end of the first half had been added to by Szoboszlai's sublime free-kick, which was his second of the week.
But once more, the Reds' failure to handle the agricultural revolution taking place at the summit of the English game provided their undoing and a long throw, in the 95th minute, caused just enough havoc for Amine Adli to profit, making it 3-2 with the final touch of the match.
And when the great carve up of Liverpool's season begins in May, when Arne Slot, his staff, and perhaps sporting director Richard Hughes, sit down to assess the good, the bad and the ugly of it all, it will be this soft underbelly that will go some way towards explaining how a title defence disintegrated so quickly and why the champions were left with little but a dog-fight for the fourth spot in the second half of the campaign.
This is a Liverpool team who have demonstrated on more than a handful of occasions this season they don't handle setbacks well and a chastening period between minutes 26 and 33 here cost them the game. It was a few minutes that they bafflingly attempted to navigate with just 10 men.
Having seen Joe Gomez succumb to injury while trying to stop the opening goal from Evanilson, Slot could be seen bellowing at goalkeeper Alisson Becker to put the ball out of play to allow Wataru Endo on the pitch in his place. The visitors, though, carried on and found themselves 2-0 down before the Japan captain was sent on. It was the sort of game-mismanagement you wouldn't expect at schoolboy level.
To describe the Reds as down to the bare bones now defensively would be an understatement so another setback for Gomez has come at the worst possible time. It's why there is an understandable questioning of Liverpool's willingness to entertain an approach from Tottenham Hotspur over vice captain Andy Robertson right now.
The Scotland captain was sent on for Milos Kerkez at the break here and while those at the club might feel duty-bound to honour the wishes of a legendary figure who has given so much, willingly losing another defender would be ridiculous at this stage.
Endo was thrown into the mix having played just 43 minutes of Premier League football and this is where Liverpool find themselves now. An inability or an unwillingness to expedite centre-back plans for the summer has left them in this position.
The decision not to rival Manchester City for Marc Guehi made some sense once it became clear that the financial packages that would have been involved were ludicrous for a player who would have been a free agent at the end of June.
Liverpool, however, have been rolling the dice all season at the back after failing to land Guehi on transfer deadline day, and it is unfair on Endo to be expected to ride to the rescue having played so little football.
The Cherries doubled their advantage when Alex Jimenez got the better of Kerkez before sliding past Alisson and the Reds responded on the cusp of half time when Van Dijk nodded in just their second goal from a corner in what is now well over 120 attempts. Set-piece struggles at both ends have been a stain on this season.
Szoboszlai's stunning strike set up a grandstand finish as the visitors went all out for a late victory but their ability to conjure those was seemingly used up in the early weeks of the term. Instead, it was Andoni Iraola's men who won just their second game in 15.
Adli's winner - the sort of goal you might encounter watching teams at Sunday League level - was the fifth goal they have conceded in stoppage time and when the final whistle sounds later this year, that might prove to be the statistic that denies them a place in next season's Champions League.
If that sounds dramatic, Slot's side have now taken just four points from a possible 15 in 2026 and while the European Cup itself continues to offer hope for supporters, that is often what kills you. They simply cannot translate those performances to the domestic game.
The uninspiring 13-match unbeaten sequence is now over and a first defeat since late November leaves the Reds knee-deep in battle for the top four. There is precious little right now to suggest it is a fight they will win.