BOURNEMOUTH, England, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Liverpool boss Arne Slot blamed tiredness for his side's concession of a 95th-minute goal away to Bournemouth that saw them slump to a 3-2 Premier league defeat after coming back from two goals down on Saturday.
The reigning champions have been a shadow of last year's side so far, losing seven league games and struggling to break down sides that they brushed aside during their imperious march to the 2024/25 title.
"For the last five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10 games, we mainly have to play with the same players, the players we have available and then sometimes a few of them could be, in the end of the game, a bit tired," Slot said in post-match interviews with a variety of British broadcasters.
"I think that's what you could see today in the end as well."
Bournemouth raced out to a 2-0 lead before being pegged back to 2-2 in the 80th minute through Dominik Szoboszlai's equaliser, and the remainder of the game was a wide-open, end-to-end affair.
"Both teams were trying to score a goal, they had better opportunities than us in the last 10 minutes and then in the end there is a long throw in which led to a goal," Slot said before criticising officials for not playing more added time.
"But in the end, that didn't matter because they scored, although maybe we could have had them two or three (more) minutes but this game should not have had (only) four minutes of extra time."
Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola was delighted with his side's resilience and how they reacted to Liverpool's surging comeback.
"It is a massive win for us because we were in a difficult situation," he told the BBC.
"We are finding ways to get points against difficult opposition. I am very proud of the team and what we are doing. We are adapting, and we are getting good points."
(Reporting by Philip O'Connor; editing by Clare Fallon)
