Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold tore into his teammates by suggesting that Bournemouth “wanted it more” in their defeat on the South Coast in an assessment that should get alarm bells ringing once more at Anfield.
The Reds failed to follow up their 7-0 thumping of fierce rivals Manchester United as they slumped to a 1-0 reverse - Philip Billing’s goal securing victory for the Cherries, whilst Mohamed Salah missed a penalty.
Speaking after the full-time whistle, England international Alexander-Arnold was particularly brutal with his assessment by claiming that Bournemouth were far more committed. Speaking to Liverpool's official website, he said: “This is the time of the season when everyone knows what they are fighting for and obviously Bournemouth are in a relegation battle.
“They are fighting for survival. But every team in the league is fighting for something so it means a lot to get the three points.
“I think looking back on it now, they probably wanted it more than us and that is something that is unacceptable and we need to make sure this kind of thing doesn’t happen again.”
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Worryingly, it is not the first time that Liverpool have been accused of not matching their opponents in commitment or dedication. Former Man United defender Gary Neville criticised the Reds during their defeat to league leaders Arsenal this season.
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Speaking at the time, he said: “For Liverpool, is this a blip or is this a bit of a decline in terms of how they are at this moment in time?
“In the first half, I thought they responded really well to an electric start. But I thought that second half was worrying for Liverpool. They looked like a shadow of themselves.
“Generally, their performance in the second half will be a worry for Jurgen Klopp - not just the performance on the ball and how they played, but also off the ball, their ability to be able to get to the ball, and press, and harass.”
Whilst the Reds have been disappointing this season, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp also spotted the theme of his side not matching their opponents nearly three years ago. In the aftermath of his side’s infamous 7-2 thumping of Aston Villa back in 2020, the German also had a very similar assessment to that of Alexander-Arnold.
Speaking at the time, he said: “It is not often I have seen games like this, although I am old enough to know strange things can happen in football. You could see in moments that in challenges Aston Villa wanted it more and that is something I saw and I don’t like.”
Supporters will certainly worry that Klopp has not managed to rectify the problems surrounding the attitude within his squad when the going gets tough. The Reds will certainly be aiming to respond before the international break with a clash against Real Madrid to come in midweek.
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