ReactionArne Slot press conference: Every word on Bournemouth 3-2 Liverpool, Joe Gomez injury and more
The Reds were beaten in heartbreaking fashion at Vitality Stadium as Amine Adli scored with the final kick of the game.
Slot's side had recovered from a 2-0 deficit to draw level at 2-2 thanks to Virgil van Dijk's header just before the break and another fine Dominik Szoboszlai free-kick with 10 minutes remaining.
But their unbeaten run would dramatically be ended at 13 matches when Adli scrambled home the hosts' third of the evening.
See what Slot said to the media after the game in full below...
On the game and the result...
Frustrating, of course, because conceding a goal is always frustrating but especially if there's no time left to come back into the game. I think it's safe to say they could have scored the 3-2 also a little bit earlier and what I mean with that is I think after we scored the 2-2, we were still trying but I think it's safe to say a few players of ours ran out of energy. I cannot even criticise them for that because two days ago we had to play an away game in Europe. We are the only team that played [in the] Champions League that has two days between in this time.
After an away game [then] another away game against one of the most intense teams in the league. I mainly, as you see, play the same players because of the players we have available. So then, what should not have happened is that you have to win it in the end because that's then more difficult. That's what you saw in the last 10 minutes. I think for the rest of the game it was completely different, I think there we dominated the game.
On two goals conceded in seven minutes...
I don't think it is completely fair to Virgil to blame him for the first goal because you could see throughout the game how much impact the wind had on certain balls. In the end of the game, Virgil hit a long ball towards Mo [Salah] and I was expecting it to go to the goalkeeper, but all of a sudden it fell to Mo. So he wasn't the only one who once in a while struggled with the wind.
It's not the first time this season where it has only been seven minutes where I wouldn't even say we were struggling, but the other team was part of the game as well. In those seven minutes we conceded two. 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. He wanted to try, thought he could but then he couldn't. Maybe that sums up our season. It's every time something else, it's every time something special how we concede. But we concede and the only ones to blame are ourselves.
On Liverpool's energy levels...
If Bournemouth had to run more than that's because we had 67 per cent ball possession or something like that. Credit to them, it's definitely one of their strengths. I think they are top in almost every statistic when it comes to running. That's why I have to credit my players; if you go 2-0 down the way we did, again we showed mentality and fitness to come back into the game against one of the fittest teams in the league – and they only have to play once a week and, of course, that helps. That is not an excuse because a club like Liverpool is used to playing three times a week but we mainly do this with the same players and maybe last season that was a bit different. Last season we did not have three long-term injuries as we have now.
As you could see in our line-up, I decided not to play Hugo [Ekitike]. That was not because I didn't like him or he wasn't good against Marseille, it was simply because I only have one No.9 available for the upcoming weeks and months. He was out two weeks ago and with so many games to play, you have to manage his minutes. I think for Jeremie Frimpong, it's safe to say the same. In the first half he was getting things and after half-time I think I could see the energy running out of him a little bit as well. So the end result is you then play two players not in their favourite position with Wata [Endo] and Dom, by the way they did well, but it is the reality of this moment.
On Liverpool playing with 10 men for several minutes in between the two Bournemouth goals, with Gomez having to go off injured after Evanilson's opener…
I tried to scream towards them [his players] to put the ball out of play but actually we were quite comfortable – I think we kept the ball for quite a long time and then when we lost it, it was the opposite. Bournemouth kept it, which is easier maybe if you play against 10. But even if you are down to 10, I think the way we conceded that goal was not specifically because we were down to 10 men. It's just a winger that is surprising our full-back in a situation where we could have done better. But, of course, maybe if we were with 11, the player that had the assist couldn't have gone as far as he could now.
On Gomez's injury…
Joe got a knock from Ali [Alisson Becker]. His knee went into… I think it was bone on bone. He was just not able to continue and Ali had quite a swelling in his knee. I don't know if Joe is going to train in two or three days, that is difficult for me to say, but it was clear he could not go on today.
On Andy Robertson's future…
What do you think my answer is going to be? Have I ever said anything about transfers in front of these microphones? My answer is always the same and it's quite boring to always give the same answer... we don't talk about transfers in public.
On whether Milos Kerkez's substitution at half-time was tactical or due to an injury…
No, there was not an injury and I wouldn't say it was tactical. It was obvious already before the game that it was not smart to play him another 90. There is a lot to be said about the players I constantly play and I have to keep them fit, I have to manage their load. It was yesterday when the performance staff came to me and said if we would have had an extra day he wouldn't have trained yesterday to recover a little bit more. So then you are always in a certain risk zone and I already had to make a substitution in the first half. So that means if you leave him on and you take him out at 60 minutes, your second substitution is left. So that is why I decided to take him off at half-time because it was always the intention to take him off somewhere in the second half. I did it now a little bit earlier.