Jamie Redknapp had no sympathy for Virgil van Dijk after the Liverpool captain claimed he was fouled in the lead-up to Bournemouth’s stoppage-time winner on Saturday evening.
Having fought back from 2-0 down to restore parity towards the end of the 90 minutes, it remained 2-2 deep into stoppage time when the Cherries won a throw-in just outside the Reds’ penalty area.
The visitors failed to deal with the subsequent set piece as Amine Adli pounced on farcical defending to poke him the winning goal and send the Vitality Stadium faithful into raptures, with an apoplectic Arne Slot making a beeline for the officials at the final whistle.
Van Dijk rages after full-time but Redknapp rejects his claims
Speaking to Sky Sports shortly after the game ended, Van Dijk insisted he’d been fouled just before the match-winning goal as he claimed: “I felt that I was clearly blocked but the ref and the VAR didn’t give it. That’s something we have to accept, but in my opinion I was blocked. I can stand here and say it should not be given but it’s given.”
However, Redknapp analysed the stoppage-time goal to show that Bournemouth hadn’t committed a foul, as he explained on Sky Sports: “He was blocked. He was fouled, but he was fouled by his own player. That’s the problem…Watch Virgil’s right foot. As he goes to jump, he catches his own man and can’t get the header.”
Van Dijk may see it differently when he watches it back
Van Dijk may have been understandably angry so soon after the final whistle, and he might’ve thought at the time that the contact on him was from a Bournemouth player, but unfortunately the replays show his ire was misplaced.
As Redknapp correctly identified, it was Curtis Jones who inadvertently bumped into his teammate, and even after that accidental collision, Liverpool still had an opportunity to clear their lines but made a total mess of it, allowing Adli to pounce.
Despite scoring the Reds’ first goal, it was a bad night at the office for the captain, who was culpable of a costly lapse in the lead-up to Evanilson’s opener as he failed to clear from a long pass into our penalty area.
When Van Dijk and his teammates review the game over the next couple of days, they’ll acknowledge that the fault for this painful defeats rests solely with them and not with the officials.
The chaotic manner in which Adli’s goal was conceded will haunt Liverpool on the long journey back to Merseyside as they’re now left to rely on favours from other teams tomorrow to avoid plummeting out of the top four.
You can view Redknapp’s analysis of Bournemouth’s winner below, via @SkySports on X:
"He was fouled by his OWN player."
Jamie Redknapp analyses whether Virgil van Dijk was blocked before Bournemouth's winner 🔎 pic.twitter.com/w8fISiNuaE
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 24, 2026
What a dreadful performance.
1) Is anyone surprised that Gomez is injured again?
2) Is anyone surprised that Liverpool conceded a late goal?
3) What is wrong with Slot’s man management style? Surely he has lost the dressing room.
4) Why oh why are Edwards, Hughes & John Henry dragging their feet in getting reinforcements for the defence? How on earth can they consider letting Robertson go before getting more defensive players in?
It really beggars belief
Spot on analysis. We shoot ourselves in the foot constantly. I agree not to be held to ransom on transfers such as Guehi’s ridiculous salary offered by City but surely you go and get another in with the state of the injury list before we miss out on. Champions league football. And who is kidding themselves of Champions league glory when we can’t beat Burnley, Leeds, Fulham and Bournemouth ?
They do not trust slot anymore and will not invest in players until end of season when there is a new head coach.
Liverpool made alot of errors they played like ametures they plzyed like an underdog team which the cherish needed ti b the underdog team againts thm. I dont no whts gpin to hApen in the nex games. Its new castle nd thn m city.