Arne Slot had a big hand in Liverpool’s 3-2 loss to Bournemouth, with some of his decision-making truly baffling.
Before the match even began, the Dutchman made the call to drop Hugo Ekitike for Cody Gakpo.
Gakpo is not a striker, never plays well there for Liverpool, and the new system Slot deployed against Marseille doesn’t work without a target man.
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So, it wasn’t surprising to see Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez being left frustrated when they were bursting forward, just like they did on Wednesday, then had nobody to aim for.
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Mohamed Salah chases the ball during Liverpool's Premier League match against Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium
Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images
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Later in the tie, Slot took Frimpong off and moved Dominik Szoboszlai into the back-four.
In the end, Liverpool didn’t deserve more than a point and their winless start to 2026 in the league continues.
FSG are not helping Arne Slot at Liverpool
Obviously, the Dutchman should and will shoulder much of the blame for the recent run of results.
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But Saturday’s defeat did highlight another problem that could have easily been fixed by FSG.
Before the transfer window even began, it was so obvious that a new centre-back needed to be signed.
Marc Guehi was a long-term target, but Liverpool wanted to wait until the summer, and he’s now joined Manchester City instead.
With Guehi out of the picture, it would have made sense for the Merseyside outfit to move on to other options.
But as Slot said in his pre-Bournemouth press conference this week, Liverpool don’t expect to sign anyone in January.
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Xabi Alonso pictured during Real Madrid's La Liga match against Real Betis at the Bernabeu (Credit: Getty Images/Alberto Gardin/NurPhoto).
Photo Credit: Getty Images/Alberto Gardin/NurPhoto
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Why? Who knows, but the need for another centre-back was so clear against Bournemouth.
Virgil van Dijk was criticised by fans, and while he’s shown moments of quality, hasn’t been at his best this term.
Joe Gomez was then injured, leaving Wataru Endo to come out and see out the remainder of the clash out of position.
Even before the winter, Liverpool only had three fit centre-backs in 2025/26, with Gomez also required as cover at right-back.
The season-ending injury to Conor Bradley against Arsenal should have seen Richard Hughes and co. spring into action and add another defender to the team as soon as possible.
However, they sat on their hands, and Liverpool’s makeshift defence was exposed against the Cherries.
FSG boast impressive revenue compared to every other team in the Premier League, but this penny-pinching plan to save as much money as possible and only sign players at the exact right time is costly and is not helping the club or Slot.
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