7M - Arne Slot Admits Liverpool "Ran Out of Steam" in Stoppage-Time Loss to Bournemouth

Liverpool manager Arne Slot acknowledged that his players "ran out of energy" in their dramatic 3-2 defeat at Bournemouth, where Amine Adli"s 95th-minute winner handed the Reds their first loss since November. Despite clawing back from a two-goal deficit—thanks to Dominik Szoboszlai"s stunning late free-kick—Liverpool were caught cold in the dying seconds when Adli converted from a chaotic long throw-in with virtually the final touch of the match.

Arne Slot said he could not criticise his players for lacking energy due to the rigours of the fixture list.

Speaking after the game, Slot suggested that the officiating team, led by referee Michael Salisbury, should have added more stoppage time in the second half to account for multiple substitutions and VAR reviews. However, he stopped short of blaming the officials for the result.

"I think it"s fair to say they could have scored 3-2 a bit earlier," Slot remarked, referencing missed opportunities by Bournemouth forwards Evanilson and substitute Ryan Christie. "Some of our players simply ran out of steam—and I can"t fault them for that. We played an away Champions League match just two days ago [on Wednesday], and we"re the only team in this situation that had to play two matches in such a short span."

Liverpool had secured a 3-0 victory in Marseille in midweek before traveling to face one of the Premier League"s most physically demanding sides. With limited squad depth, Slot fielded largely the same starting XI. "Conceding a goal is always frustrating," he said, "but especially when there"s no time left to respond."

At full-time, Slot voiced his frustration to the match officials over the allocation of only four minutes of second-half stoppage time. "For me, four minutes wasn"t enough," he explained. "There was a free-kick that took two or three minutes to set up, there were VAR checks, and several substitutions. That"s exactly what I told them. In reality, we probably deserved two or three extra minutes—but ultimately, it didn"t change the outcome because they scored anyway."

Slot also defended his captain, Virgil van Dijk, who was involved in the defensive miscommunication that led to Evanilson"s opening goal. He declined to comment on speculation surrounding left-back Andy Robertson"s future, despite being pressed on whether the Scotland international would remain at Anfield. Robertson—who joined Liverpool for £40 million from Bournemouth last summer—replaced Milos Kerkez at halftime but was partially at fault for Bournemouth"s second goal, which came while Liverpool were temporarily down to 10 men following Joe Gomez"s injury-enforced withdrawal.

Meanwhile, Bournemouth head coach Andoni Iraola praised his team"s tactical discipline and evolving approach. "Usually, we go full throttle from the start and maintain that intensity until the end," Iraola said. "But now, perhaps because of our limited squad numbers, we"ve learned to pick our moments more carefully and conserve energy where needed. Today, that adjustment paid off."