Liverpool dropped another two points in the Premier League yesterday after Bournemouth's Amine Adli scored at the death to make it 3-2 to Andoni Iraola's side at the Vitality Stadium. Damning footage, which shows the Liverpool players flat-out ignoring Arne Slot's instructions from the side of the pitch, has now emerged in the five-goal thriller's aftermath.
Cherries frontman Evanlison drew first blood in the 26th minute after Virgil van Dijk's mistake (which he blamed on the wind) allowed Alex Scott to square it to the Brazilian. Alex Jimenez doubled the home side's advantage seven minutes later before Van Dijk pulled one back on the stroke of half-time.
Liverpool's clever free-kick routine, rolled back by Mohamed Salah and curled around the wall by Dominik Szoboszlai, caught Djordje Petrovic off guard as they bagged an equaliser to make it 2-2. Adli, though, was quickest to pounce on a loose ball in the Liverpool box in the 95th minute, and he prodded home to earn all three points in dramatic fashion.
Arne Slot
Manchester United, by virtue of the fact that Liverpool's 13-match unbeaten streak came to an end on Saturday evening, are able to leapfrog their arch-rivals with a win over Arsenal today (Sunday 26 January) and Slot's men will be kicking themselves because they failed to kick the ball out while down to ten men. Bournemouth scored their second goal in that time frame.
As the injured Joe Gomez was walking off, Wataru Endo was warm on the sidelines and ready to come on – but the Japan international had to wait over four minutes to enter the fray. That's because Liverpool players refused to kick the ball out of play, ignored Arne Slot's instructions, and conceded a second goal while playing with one less man.
Slot – whose job security is increasingly wearing thin as the weeks go by – repeatedly gestured to Alisson Becker in the Liverpool net and his teammates to get the ball out of play. They flat-out ignored the Dutchman but were equally irritated after Bournemouth doubled their advantage. Liverpool eventually made the change, with Endo replacing Gomez, but that was after Jimenez found space behind Milos Kerkez and Bournemouth plundered their second goal of the affair.
liverpool-1
In his post-match analysis on Sky Sports, Jamie Redknapp highlighted the urgency (or lack thereof) from Liverpool to return to 10 players once Gomez was limping at the side of the pitch alongside a Reds staff member.
Redknapp, who played for both sides during his career, pointed out that Slot's backroom team shouldn't have wasted time in giving Endo instructions. Their main priority, though, should've been getting him on the pitch to even out the numerical disadvantage. "Do not worry about instructions right now," he said. "Just get him on the pitch!"
Alisson's chance to punt the ball out of play from a goal kick, too, was also spotted by the Sky Sports cameras. Animated on the touchline, you can see Slot telling the shot stopper to kick the ball out of play. "I used the word 'amateurish' at half-time, I think it is," said Redknapp, who claimed Liverpool had plenty of chances to make the change.
In terms of the goal, which saw James Hill's line-splitting pass find Jimenez behind the Reds back four, Redknapp highlighted that Van Dijk should've stepped up rather than dropping back. Ryan Gravenberch filled in as a de-facto centre-back after Gomez was taken off and not replaced yet – Liverpool were the masterminds of their own downfall by failing to kick the ball out of play.
Virgil van Dijk Believes Liverpool 'Had Control' With Ten Men
Virgil van Dijk in action for Liverpool against West Ham United in the Premier League
The post-match interview of Van Dijk was an odd one. For the first goal – clearly caused by his poor judgement of the ball – he insisted the windy conditions played a massive part. "Well, for the first goal, I think it was a difficult ball to judge due to the circumstances. The wind was very tricky, I think you saw it, especially when we played long balls on their side. It was very difficult to judge. To concede that one, it's not an issue but I think we controlled the game quite well before that."
The Dutchman, widely regarded as one of the best defenders in the history of the Premier League, was also asked about why Liverpool didn't kick the ball out of play. "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," he said before adding:
"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."
MixCollage-25-Mar-2025-09-48-AM-7183 Related
How Much Money All 51 Clubs in Premier League History Has Made or Lost
Arsenal have made the second most money of any team in Premier League history, while only five clubs have lost more money than Man Utd.
Liverpool, the reigning champions of the Premier League after winning the title in Slot's sophomore campaign at the helm, will be keen to put their dramatic 3-2 loss to Bournemouth behind them – especially with the fixtures continuing to come thick and fast. Qarabag, Newcastle United and Manchester City all travel to Anfield in the coming weeks.