Manager was unhappy with four minutes of stoppage time, and also complained about the kickoff time and players “running out of energy”
Liverpool had their unconvincing unbeaten run brought to an end by Bournemouth with virtually the last kick of the game at the Vitality Stadium.
Two goals from Evanilson and Alex Jimenez put the Cherries ahead in the first half before Virgil van Dijk levelled just before the break, and then Dominik Szoboszlai scored an excellent freekick to pull level with 10 minutes remaining in normal time.
But with four minutes of stoppage time played Amine Adli scored a scrappy goal to break Liverpool hearts.
But what did Arne Slot say about the defeat, and did he, as he has often done this season, find something to blame?
“I think it is safe to say they could have scored 3-2 a little bit earlier,” Slot confessed, a reference to chances for Ryan Christie and Evanilson that could have condemned the Reds to defeat long before Adli’s late strike.
“A few of our players ran out of energy and I cannot even criticise them for that because two days ago [three] we had to play an away game. We’re the only team that played in the Champions League that has two games in between.
“This time after an away game [a 3-0 win in Marseille], another away game against one of the most intense teams in the league and I mainly, as you probably see, played the same players because of the players we have available. Conceding a goal is always frustrating, but especially if there is no time left to come back into the game.”
Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp also regularly complained about playing on the Saturday after a Champions League game on Wednesday. Klopp complained majorly about the early kickoff, and Liverpool at least were given a late 5.30pm kickoff.
As for players “running out of energy”, Slot is pointing not only to the short recovery time but also the injuries Liverpool have had. Alexander Isak is still out injured, Ibrahima Konate away on compassionate leave, and Joe Gomez went off in the first half and had to be replaced by Wataru Endo.
Then at full time, Liverpool’s manager was raging at match officials for the perceived inadequate added time.
“For me, four minutes of added time was not enough but in the end that didn’t matter because they scored,” Slot said. “Although then we could’ve maybe had two or three [more] minutes but this game shouldn’t have had four minutes of extra time.
“There was a free-kick that took two or three minutes, there were VAR moments, there were substitutions. That’s what I said to them.”
Liverpool had a short period when they played with 10 men, after Gomez went off injured and Endo had to wait for the referee’s signal to come on. It was in that period that Bournemouth scored their second. Slot was asked if the period was to blame for the result.
“There has only been seven minutes where I wouldn’t even say we were struggling but where the other team was part of the game as well, and in those seven minutes we conceded two,” said Slot.
By saying that, he was referencing the seven-minute period in the first half when Bournemouth scored both their goals.
“Of course, the second one was when we were down to 10 because after the first goal Joe Gomez had to go off with an injury,” Liverpool’s coach added. “He wanted to try. He thought he could, but then he couldn’t.
“And maybe that sums up our season. It’s every time something else. It’s every time something special how we concede.”
However, Slot then warned: “But we concede, and the only ones to blame are ourselves.”
