Adli strikes late for Bournemouth to end Liverpool's 13-game unbeaten run

Dominik Szoboszlai's late equaliser looked to have spared Virgil van Dijk's blushes after the Anfield skipper was at fault for Bournemouth's first two goals. But Moroccan forward Adli had other ideas.

CHERRIES ON TOP: Bournemouth's Amine Adli celebrates after scoring the winner. Pic: AP Photo/Ian Walton.

Premier League: Bournemouth 3 Liverpool 2

AMINE Adli scrambled home a stoppage-time winner as Liverpool's disastrous title defence lurched to a new low.

Dominik Szoboszlai's late equaliser looked to have spared Virgil van Dijk's blushes after the Anfield skipper was at fault for Bournemouth's first two goals.

Moroccan forward Adli had other ideas, poking home from close range after Liverpool's creaking defence failed to deal with a long throw into the box to reward the hosts' refusal to settle for a draw as only a second win in 15 games lifted them 10 points clear of the bottom three.

Arne Slot's champions remain fourth, a distant 14 points behind leaders Arsenal after a fifth consecutive Premier League game without a victory underlined their continued difficulty in matching the sky-high standards of last season.

Van Dijk partially atoned with his first Premier League goal for eight months to halve a two-goal deficit after Alex Jimenez added to Evanilson's third goal in five games.

Slot's side ran out winners as these sides opened the season in August with a six-goal thriller, and this return match was equally as watchable as the outcome remained in doubt right until the final kick of a breathless contest.

Liverpool dominated the opening 25 minutes before hosts turned the game on its head with two goals in the space of seven minutes midway through the first half.

Both were supplied by the Cherries' marauding centre-backs, firstly when Marcos Senesi sent a perfectly weighted pass from halfway into the Liverpool area which van Dijk failed to clear, allowing Alex Scott to pull back from the byline for Evanilson to slam the ball home from six yards.

Joe Gomez had left the Brazilian unmarked to score his fifth of the season with Liverpool down to 10 men as the defender received treatment for an injury following a collision with Alisson which curtailed the centre-back's involvement when the hosts doubled the lead.

James Hill was allowed time and space to send a perfectly weighted pass inside former Cherries defender Milos Kerkez and into the area, where Alex Jimenez didn't have to break stride as the Spaniard threaded a low shot through the legs of an exposed Alisson.

Why the Liverpool keeper didn't kick the ball out previously to allow his side to make a substitution to bring them back up to a full complement only he will know.

Jimenez's first goal since a summer move from Milan survived a lengthy VAR review as the visitors were undone by van Dijk's failure to maintain the high line in an unsuccessful effort to play offside.

The Liverpool skipper made partial amends on the stroke of half-time. The Dutchman's fourth goal of the season and first in the league since May arrived courtesy of a purposeful glancing near post header from a cheaply conceded corner swung in by Szoboszlai.

Kerkez was hauled off at half-time on an unhappy return to the south coast for the Hungarian defender as Liverpool struggled to take advantage of the strong wind at their backs after the break.

Rio Ngumoha was undone by his own honesty as the substitute remained on his feet after a reckless Jimenez challenge in the area, but the Bournemouth defender didn't learn from his mistake, fouling the youngster in Szoboszlai territory on the edge of the box 10 minutes from time.

The Hungarian had fired home a free-kick in the midweek Champions League win in Marseille and repeated the trick with an unerring finish into the bottom corner from Mo Salah's roll-back pass 20 yards out.

Bournemouth still weren't done, and it took a fine save from Alisson to tip a powerful shot over from Ryan Christie.

The substitute then turned provider to put Evanilson in on goal but somehow the forward failed to keep his close-range effort on target.

Adli showed the South American how it should be done at the death to end Liverpool's 13-game unbeaten run in dramatic style.

Bournemouth (4-2-3-1): Petrovic 7; Smith 7, Hill 7, Senesi 7, Truffert 6; Scott 7, Cook 7; Jimenez 7 (Toth 85, 6), Kroupi 6 (Christie 67, 7), Adli 7; Evanilson 7 (Unal 90, 6). Booked: Kroupi.

Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Alisson 6; Frimpong 6 (Jones 59, 6), Gomez 4 (Endo 35, 6), van Dijk 5, Kerkez 4 (Robertson 46, 7); Gravenberch 6, MacAllister 6 (Ekitike 59, 6); Salah 5, Szoboszlai 7, Wirtz 6; Gakpo 5 (Ngumoha 74, 7).

Referee: Michael Salisbury.