Slot blames lack of energy in Bournemouth defeat

Energy, injuries and a late collapse on the south coast

Liverpool’s season has developed a weary rhythm, the kind that creeps up quietly and then suddenly defines everything. On the south coast, at Bournemouth, it arrived with the final kick of the game. A 3–2 defeat, a patched-up defence, and a familiar sense of physical depletion framed another difficult afternoon for Arne Slot’s side, who continue to search for traction amid an unforgiving schedule.

Slot’s post-match reflections, first reported by The Athletic in a piece by Gregg Evans, carried the tone of a manager carefully balancing honesty with protection. There was no dressing-room flaying here, no public rebuke. Instead, there was an acknowledgment of limits being reached.

“It’s safe to say we had a few players who ran out of energy,” Slot admitted, a line that captured both the performance and the broader context in which it unfolded.

Bournemouth, England, 24th January 2026. Joe Gomez of Liverpool leaves the pitch after picking up an inury 

Fatigue and fixture pressure converge

This was not simply a bad day at the office. It was, in Slot’s telling, the consequence of a calendar that has squeezed Liverpool until the margins disappeared. A Champions League trip to Marseille on Wednesday night, followed by a Premier League fixture just two days later, left little room for recovery. Slot pointed out that Liverpool were the only Champions League side faced with such a short turnaround, a detail that clearly rankled.

He largely stuck with the same group of players, not through stubbornness but necessity. Injuries have stripped away options, forcing improvisation. By full-time at Bournemouth, Liverpool’s back four included two midfielders, Wataru Endo and Dominik Szoboszlai, pressed into defensive service. It was functional, just about, until it wasn’t.

The late goal conceded felt inevitable rather than shocking, the product of legs that no longer responded quickly enough. Five Premier League games without a win now tell a story of attrition as much as form.

Injuries reshape Liverpool’s choices

Absence has become a defining feature of Liverpool’s matchday planning. Ibrahima Konate was missing following the passing of his father, a reminder that football often collides with realities far beyond tactics and systems. Joe Gomez’s afternoon ended after just 27 minutes, adding another name to a growing injury list that already includes Conor Bradley and Giovanni Leoni.

Further forward, Alexander Isak remains sidelined with a knee injury, while Federico Chiesa was unavailable due to a muscle problem. These gaps ripple through the side. Slot explained that Hugo Ekitike, who had started in Marseille, was rested despite the shortage of options.

“He didn’t start because I only have one No 9 available and I have to manage his minutes,” Slot said, outlining the kind of calculation that now underpins every selection decision.

Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo led the line, but even they looked weighed down by accumulated minutes, a reflection of a squad stretched thin rather than underperforming through lack of effort.

Managing minutes in a stretched squad

Slot’s comments revealed a manager increasingly reliant on sports science conversations as much as tactical ones. Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez were both flagged as players running close to the edge physically. In Kerkez’s case, the warning signs were already there before kick-off.

Slot described discussions with performance staff who told him that, with an extra day, Kerkez would not have trained at all. Instead, he started, because the alternative was even greater risk elsewhere. “You’re already in a risk zone,” Slot said, a phrase that neatly summarised Liverpool’s current position.

This is the quiet grind of a long season made louder by injuries. Decisions are no longer about optimisation, but survival. Who can last 90 minutes? Who can be protected without undermining the team entirely? These are the questions shaping Liverpool’s weeks.

Tension over squad depth questions

When pressed on whether the injury to Gomez had left Liverpool short, Slot bristled. His response was brief, defensive, and revealing. Asked if the squad had been stretched for some time, he replied simply: “That’s your opinion.”

It was a moment of friction that hinted at a broader tension. Slot chose not to be drawn on potential reinforcements, keeping his focus firmly on the players he has. Yet the subtext was clear. This Liverpool side is operating at the edge of its resources, and every additional absence magnifies the strain.

For Bournemouth, the victory was a testament to persistence. For Liverpool, it was another reminder that energy, not ideology, often decides matches at this level. Slot’s ideas remain intact, but ideas still need bodies capable of carrying them out.

As the season grinds on, Liverpool’s challenge is no longer just about results. It is about endurance, adaptation, and finding a way to survive weeks like this without letting them define the entire campaign.