Liverpool boss Arne Slot will no doubt be under huge pressure once again this week, after falling to a late 3-2 defeat to Bournemouth at the Vitality on Saturday night.
The Reds recovered from two goals down thanks to strikes from Virgil van Dijk and Dominik Szoboszlai, but it wasn’t enough as Andoni Iraola’s side snatched a late winner.
James Hill’s long throw caused confusion within the Reds’ 18-yard box, which led to the ball falling to Amine Adli poking home past Alisson with the last kick of the game.
alisson-van-dijk-liverpool
The defeat was the club’s first in the last 14 matches across all competitions, but they now sit 14 points off the summit of the Premier League, with Arsenal having a game in hand.
It certainly was another night to forget for Slot and his side, with countless players within his starting eleven unable to produce the goods on the South Coast.
Liverpool’s poor performers against Bournemouth
Left-back Milos Kerkez was making his first return to the Vitality last night after his summer move to Anfield, but it certainly was a performance to forget for the Hungarian.
He started the clash, but was replaced at the break by Andy Robertson, after failing to complete any of his attempted dribbles and crosses when trying to create problems in forward areas.
Kerkez
Without the ball, the 22-year-old was just as disappointing, as seen by his tally of zero tackles made, whilst also winning just 50% of the ground duels he entered.
Kerkez wasn’t alone in failing to deliver against the Cherries, with forward Cody Gakpo once again unable to take advantage of the chance handed his way by the manager.
The Dutch international, like Kerkez, failed to complete any of his dribbles or crosses, which resulted in him being withdrawn with 15 minutes of the contest remaining.
He also registered just 34 touches of the ball during his time on the pitch, with goalkeeper Allison registering more - which further highlights his lack of creativity in the final third.
The Liverpool star who needs to be axed after Bournemouth
After getting back level after trailing by two goals, Reds boss Slot will no doubt be disappointed that his side threw away at least a point against Iraola’s side.
arne-slot-liverpool
However, too many of his starting eleven appeared to be off the pace, which no doubt played a huge factor in their inability to secure anything out of the clash on the South Coast.
As previously mentioned, the likes of Gakpo and Kerkez struggled to meet expectations against the Cherries, but they certainly weren’t alone on Saturday night.
Szoboszlai was undoubtedly the shining light, as seen with his goal and assist, with the attacking midfielder continuing his rich vein of form in recent weeks.
He’s arguably becoming the Reds’ most important player at present, something which Mohamed Salah was for so long during the title-winning campaign last time around.
mohamed-salah-liverpool
The Egyptian has been a shadow of his former self in 2025/26, but Slot handed him a start yesterday after his return to the club following his stint at AFCON with Egypt.
However, it was a decision that failed to yield the desired results, with the 33-year-old massively struggling to provide the goods within attacking areas.
He featured for the entirety of the contest last night, but was disappointed throughout, as seen by his tally of one completed cross out of his eight attempts.
Salah also failed to complete any of his attempted dribbles, whilst being cheaply dispossessed on three occasions, which further highlights his struggles in possession.
Mohamed Salah - stats against Bournemouth
Statistics
Minutes played
Touches
Dribbles completed
Crosses completed
Ground duels won
Possession lost
Big chances missed
Fouls committed
Stats via FotMob
However, his wastefulness with the ball was compounded by his tally of 21 times possession lost - with such a tally the highest of any Reds player who started the defeat.
As a result of his showing last night, the attacker was handed a measly 5/10 match rating by the Liverpool Echo journalist Ian Doyle - further showcasing how poor he was at the Vitality.
mohamed-salah-liverpool
After such a showing, the manager must be left with no choice but to drop the experienced forward, with the Egyptian no doubt lacking the quality he produced last time around.
He and Gakpo were the standout players to struggle in the defeat, which certainly explains why the side were unable to claim all three points in their quest to rise back up the table.
However, it remains to be seen what will be deemed as a success for the club this year, with the side ultimately lacking the quality and talent needed to emulate last year’s achievements.
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