Liverpool dropped another two points in the Premier League yesterday after Bournemouth‘s Amine Adli scored at the death to make it 3-2 to Andoni Iraola’s side at the Vitality Stadium. Damning footage, which shows the Liverpool players flat-out ignoring Arne Slot’s instructions from the side of the pitch, has now emerged in the five-goal thriller’s aftermath.
Cherries frontman Evanlison drew first blood in the 26th minute after Virgil van Dijk’s mistake (which he blamed on the wind) allowed Alex Scott to square it to the Brazilian. Alex Jimenez doubled the home side’s advantage seven minutes later before Van Dijk pulled one back on the stroke of half-time.
Liverpool‘s clever free-kick routine, rolled back by Mohamed Salah and curled around the wall by Dominik Szoboszlai, caught Djordje Petrovic off guard as they bagged an equaliser to make it 2-2. Adli, though, was quickest to pounce on a loose ball in the Liverpool box in the 95th minute, and he prodded home to earn all three points in dramatic fashion.
Manchester United, by virtue of the fact that Liverpool’s 13-match unbeaten streak came to an end on Saturday evening, are able to leapfrog their arch-rivals with a win over Arsenal today (Sunday 26 January) and Slot‘s men will be kicking themselves because they failed to kick the ball out while down to ten men. Bournemouth scored their second goal in that time frame.
As the injured Joe Gomez was walking off, Wataru Endo was warm on the sidelines and ready to come on – but the Japan international had to wait over four minutes to enter the fray. That’s because Liverpool players refused to kick the ball out of play, ignored Arne Slot’s instructions, and conceded a second goal while playing with one less man.
Slot – whose job security is increasingly wearing thin as the weeks go by – repeatedly gestured to Alisson Becker in the Liverpool net and his teammates to get the ball out of play. They flat-out ignored the Dutchman but were equally irritated after Bournemouth doubled their advantage. Liverpool eventually made the change, with Endo replacing Gomez, but that was after Jimenez found space behind Milos Kerkez and Bournemouth plundered their second goal of the affair.
In his post-match analysis on Sky Sports, Jamie Redknapp highlighted the urgency (or lack thereof) from Liverpool to return to 10 players once Gomez was limping at the side of the pitch alongside a Reds staff member.
Redknapp, who played for both sides during his career, pointed out that Slot’s backroom team shouldn’t have wasted time in giving Endo instructions. Their main priority, though, should’ve been getting him on the pitch to even out the numerical disadvantage. “Do not worry about instructions right now,” he said. “Just get him on the pitch!”
Alisson’s chance to punt the ball out of play from a goal kick, too, was also spotted by the Sky Sports cameras. Animated on the touchline, you can see Slot telling the shot stopper to kick the ball out of play. “I used the word ‘amateurish’ at half-time, I think it is,” said Redknapp, who claimed Liverpool had plenty of chances to make the change.
In terms of the goal, which saw James Hill’s line-splitting pass find Jimenez behind the Reds back four, Redknapp highlighted that Van Dijk should’ve stepped up rather than dropping back. Ryan Gravenberch filled in as a de-facto centre-back after Gomez was taken off and not replaced yet – Liverpool were the masterminds of their own downfall by failing to kick the ball out of play.
Virgil van Dijk Believes Liverpool ‘Had Control’ With Ten Men
The post-match interview of Van Dijk was an odd one. For the first goal – clearly caused by his poor judgement of the ball – he insisted the windy conditions played a massive part. “Well, for the first goal, I think it was a difficult ball to judge due to the circumstances. The wind was very tricky, I think you saw it, especially when we played long balls on their side. It was very difficult to judge. To concede that one, it’s not an issue but I think we controlled the game quite well before that.”
The Dutchman, widely regarded as one of the best defenders in the history of the Premier League, was also asked about why Liverpool didn’t kick the ball out of play. “We were with 10 men, you can argue that we have to kick the ball out. It’s not on Alisson. It’s easy to say he should have done this. It is a split second,” he said before adding:
“We decided to keep the ball as we had possession, and unfortunately for us, we conceded. Losing never feels good, especially as a Liverpool player.”
Arsenal have made the second most money of any team in Premier League history, while only five clubs have lost more money than Man Utd.
Liverpool, the reigning champions of the Premier League after winning the title in Slot’s sophomore campaign at the helm, will be keen to put their dramatic 3-2 loss to Bournemouth behind them – especially with the fixtures continuing to come thick and fast. Qarabag, Newcastle United and Manchester City all travel to Anfield in the coming weeks.
Sean Strickland cannot help but keep getting himself into trouble as the former UFC middleweight champion was escorted away from an official UFC event by security, just weeks after being told he was “not invited” to the market-leading MMA firm’s event, on the 14th of June, on the South Lawn at The White House in Washington, D.C — a one-of-a-kind, once-in-a-generation show to help celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States, together with the 80th birthday of sitting U.S. President, Donald Trump.
Officially termed UFC Freedom 250, the seven-fight card features Ilia Topuria against Justin Gaethje in a UFC lightweight championship unification for the main event, and Alex Pereira versus Ciryl Gane in the co-main. There are five other bouts on the main card including Sean O’Malley, Michael Chandler, and Bo Nickal in separate showdowns.
This article covers a developing story. Continue to check back with us as we will be adding more information as it becomes available.
One of the biggest and most controversial nights in UFC history is finally upon us. In celebration of both the 250th anniversary of the USA and President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday, the UFC Octagon has been set up on the South Lawn of the White House for UFC Freedom 250.
A stacked seven-fight card has been put together for the historic show, which will be headlined by Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje clashing for the undisputed UFC Lightweight Championship.
In the evening’s co-main event, Alex Pereira and Ciryl Gane will clash for the interim UFC Heavyweight Championship. Elsewhere on the card, the likes of Sean O’Malley, Michael Chandler and Derrick Lewis are all set to step into the Octagon.
GIVEMESPORT has you covered for all the action from a landmark night in Washington DC below.
One of the major challenges of hosting an outdoor event was always going to be the chance of bad weather impacting the show. Unfortunately for the UFC, the elements have already played a part in disrupting Freedom 250.
The National Weather Service has issued a severe thunderstorm watch for the District of Columbia, parts of Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. It is expected to remain in place until well into the latter stages of the card tonight.
As a result, the UFC has shifted their schedule for the event. The company confirmed on Twitter that their live event coverage will be delayed by one hour.
Per The Mirror, this also means that every fight on the card will start an hour later than advertised.
This article covers a developing story. Continue to check back with us as we will be adding more information as it becomes available.
At least one member of the mixed martial arts media claims to have seen tweets from the official account of UFC commentator and former two-division champion, Dan Cormier, that seemingly contained private messages from Eric Trump regarding a “rigged” fight at the imminent event on the South Lawn of The White House in Washington, D.C.
The show, held on the 14th of June, is dubbed UFC Freedom 250. The market-leading combat sports firm organized the event to coincide with the 250th anniversary celebrations of the United States, together with the 80th birthday of sitting U.S. President Donald Trump.
UFC Freedom 250 is a seven-fight card featuring prominent fighters like Diego Lopes, Bo Nickal, and Michael Chandler in separate bouts, as well as fan favorite Sean O’Malley vs Aiemann Zahabi, Alex Pereira against Ciryl Gane, and a UFC lightweight championship unification between the king, Ilia Topuria, and interim title-holder, Justin Gaethje, in the main event.
One of Trump’s sons, Eric, who, like the President, will be in attendance, alleged, per the tweets below, to have privately messaged Cormier to seemingly request inside information about at least one of the bouts, and specifically asked if any of the fighters were injured. One media member confirmed the existence of Cormier’s posts. They have since been removed from the platform.
Eric Trump Allegedly Slid Into Dan Cormier’s DMs Over ‘Rigged’ UFC Fight
“I’m probably going to get a lot of flak for bringing this to light, however I refuse to stay silent,” Cormier supposedly tweeted only hours before the UFC Freedom 250 event was due to begin.
“The UFC is a sport that I am deeply passionate about. I will not tolerate this type of inside behavior. Shame on anyone trying to ruin this beautiful event.”
The alleged Cormier account then attached several screenshots from an apparent private exchange with a profile that appears to be Eric Trump’s.
In the screenshots, Eric tells Cormier he’ll be attending and saw that he was working on the show. After Cormier replied, commenting on how surreal it was to receive a message from him, Trump then said: “Anything you can tell me about the fighrters tomorrow? Who you got winning?” Trump also asked: “You placing any bets?”
Cormier, to his credit, said: “Nah I’m actually not allowed to bet on any cards or anything.”
When Trump asked if “any of the fighters [are] injured,” Cormier replied: “I’m not quite sure why you’re asking me this but I think they’re all in good shape.”
Eric Trump supposedly finished: “I’ll just cut to the chase. Are any of the fights tomorrow rigged? I’ve been eyeing the Lopes fight and I think an upset wouldn’t be too unrealistic.” He then posted two dollar sign emojis.
See the alleged exchange right here:
Adam Martin, a long-time MMA reporter, verified the existance of Cormier’s posts. “DC just tweeted and deleted this,” Martin said. “I saw it myself. Crazy stuff.”
Prominent broadcaster, Luke Thomas, said: “I’ve seen at least one legitimate media member saying they saw the tweet before it was deleted. This is bonkers.”
Popular MMA account Caposa added: “What the f***. Eric Trump looking for inside info on “rigged” fights from Daniel Cormier.”
