Virgil van Dijk offered an unusual excuse for his role in Bournemouth’s opening goal as Liverpool suffered a dramatic 3-2 defeat to end their 13-game unbeaten run.
Liverpool battled back well from 2-0 down to draw level through Van Dijk’s header from a corner and Dominik Szoboszlai’s free-kick either side of half-time.
Arne Slot’s side continued to push on for a winner, but were instead condemned to their first defeat since November last year when Amine Adli poked home a winner with the last kick of the game.
The result means Liverpool are now winless in five Premier League matches, having drawn their last four games prior to Sundays’s encounter with Bournemouth.
While getting on the scoresheet before half-time, Van Dijk did not cover himself in glory for Bournemouth’s opening goal, misjudging the flight of a long ball over the top, with his botched clearances falling to Alex Scott, who set up Evanilson to score.
And speaking after the game, the Dutch centre-back insisted that windy conditions on the south coast were the cause of his crucial mistake, which put Andoni Iraola’s side ahead.
‘The first goal was a difficult one to judge during the circumstances, the wind was very tricky,’ Van Dijk told Sky Sports.
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‘I think you saw it when we played long balls on that side it was very difficult to judge. So to concede that wasn’t an issue but it’s not good.
‘To concede two goals in a short period is not good at all. The goal I scored before half-time was really important for momentum in the second-half back and I think we showed that.
‘We worked so hard to get back into the game, we had a free-kick and some great opportunities as well but in the end, that throw in cost us.’
The Reds captain added: ‘I am very disappointed. Last minute of the game is very tough to take, we worked very hard in the second half to get back in the game and to concede that late is disappointing.’
Bournemouth midfielder Scott, who capitalised on Van Dijk’s mistake to set up his side’s opener, said that the windy conditions did make things tricky on the evening.
‘The wind made it more difficult for Virgil to deal with it,’ he told Sky Sports. ‘I think the conditions were tough out there today, the first half we were playing into the wind and second half with the wind.
‘It was tough and definitely played a part of that goal. For him, I reckon, it just stopped in the air a little bit, but thankfully I was there to make something of it and obviously happy to get the goal there early on.’
Slot was also not keen to hold his captain fully responsible for the opening goal, saying post-match: ‘I don’t think it’s completely fair to Virgil to blame him for the first goal.
‘I think you could see throughout the game how much impact the wind had.’
The Liverpool boss, however, did admit that fatigue played a role in his side slipping to a defeat in added time.
‘We came back to 2-2 and then I thought it was a very open game where both teams had their chances,’ he told Sky Sports.
‘They probably [had] even more than us which shouldn’t come as a complete surprise to me knowing that we’ve played two days before in Marseille and for the last four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10 games we’ve had to play with the same players for the players we had available and then sometimes a few of them could be at the end of the game a bit tired.
‘I think that’s what you could see at the end today as well.’
Liverpool remain in fourth, but could be leapfrogged by as many as four teams if Manchester United, Chelsea, Brentford and Newcastle United all win on Sunday.
Slot’s side return to action in midweek with their final Champions League league phase match at home to Qarabag.
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