Arne Slot: Liverpool boss cites wind, fixture congestion and injuries after loss

Liverpool boss Arne Slot says his team only have themselves to blame for the 3-2 defeat to Bournemouth despite citing the wind, fixture congestion and injuries after the game.

Amine Adli bundled home a last-gasp winner with virtually the last kick at the Vitality Stadium to end Liverpool's 13-game unbeaten run with a seventh defeat of the Premier League campaign.

Liverpool remain fourth after the defeat - 14 points adrift of leaders Arsenal - and could slip out of the Champions League places when Manchester United and Chelsea play on Sunday.

The loss arrived three days after the Reds beat Marseille 3-0 away from home in the Champions League and despite Slot saying "the only ones to blame are ourselves" during his post-match press conference, the Reds boss was quick to criticise the short turnaround between fixtures, leading to his players "running out of energy" on Saturday.

"Maybe that sums up our season. Every time something else, it's every time something special, how we concede but we concede. The only ones to blame are ourselves," he said.

Slot added: "I think it is safe to say they could've scored the 3-2 a little bit earlier. A few players of ours ran out of energy, and I cannot criticise them for that.

"Two days ago, we had to play an away game in Europe. We are the only team that played Champions League that has two days in between.

"After an away game, another away game against one of the most intense teams."

Windy Wonderland at the Vitality

Aside from fixtures piling up on his injury-laden squad, Slot also referenced the wind in the aftermath of the defeat, along with captain Virgil van Dijk.

Van Dijk had an afternoon to forget after failing to clear the ball for Bournemouth's first goal from Evanilson, playing Alejandro Jimenez onside for the second and then tripping over team-mate Curtis Jones amongst the chaos for Adli's late winner.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Van Dijk said: "The first goal I think it was a difficult ball to judge in the circumstances. The wind was tricky.

"I take full responsibility even though it was a difficult ball to judge."

On the late winner, Van Dijk added: "What I felt on that pitch was that I was clearly blocked. The referee and the VAR don't give it.

"We will have to accept it. I can stand here and say it should not be given but it was. It is what it is."

Slot was also asked about Van Dijk's error for the opener, where he defended his player and agreed that the wind played a role.

He said: "It is not completely fair to Virgil to blame him for the first goal. You can see throughout the game how much impact the wind had.

"He wasn't the only one who struggled with the wind."

Outnumbered or outclassed?

The mountain created for Liverpool to climb after the first goal stretched further than just the scoreline.

While trying to prevent the opener, Joe Gomez picked up an injury, which Slot has since confirmed as a knock from "bone-to-bone contact" with Alisson Becker.

With Gomez injured, Liverpool were forced to play with 10 men for nine minutes and chose not to kick the ball out to make a substitution, leading to Bournemouth scoring their second.

"The second goal was when we were down to 10. After the first goal, Joe Gomez had to go off. He wanted to try, he thought he could, but then he couldn't," said Slot.

"I tried to scream towards them to put the ball out but we were quite comfortable. When we lost it, it was the opposite. But even if you are down 10, the way we conceded that goal was not specifically because we were down to 10.

"It is just a winger that is surprising our fullback in a situation we could have done better."

Another game, another injury for Liverpool

Gomez will now join a growing list of players sidelined for Slot, with Conor Bradley, Federico Chiesa, Alexander Isak, Ibrahima Konate, Giovanni Leoni and Stefan Bajcetic all missing the fixture.

Slot's initial comments suggest he did not want to make excuses but the Liverpool boss then explained that injury problems plaguing his squad explain why they haven't been able to replicate the successes across all competitions like last season.

Slot continued: "I have to credit my players. You go 2-0 down but we showed the mentality and the fitness to come back against one of the fittest teams in the league - and they only have to play once a week.

"That is not an excuse; a club like Liverpool is used to playing three times a week. But we mainly do this with the same players.

"Last season, we did not have three long-term injuries. As you can see by the line-up, I decided to not play Hugo [Ekitike]. That is not because I don't like him," Slot said.

"That is because I have one No 9 available for the upcoming weeks and months. With so many matches to play, you have to manage his minutes."

So, they only have themselves to blame - plus the wind, fixture congestion and injuries.