Liverpool crisis deepens with 95th-minute sucker punch, champs still searching for first 2026 league win

Bournemouth midfielder Amine Adli struck deep in second-half added time to condemn Liverpool to their seventh Premier League defeat of the season on Sunday (AEDT), leaving the reigning champions still searching for their first league win of 2026.

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk said he thought he had been fouled in the build-up to Bournemouth's winner, which came after a chaotic scramble following a long throw, but in the end, his side capitulated again despite dominating for much of the second half.

"Losing never feels good, especially as a Liverpool player, and in the season we're trying to find consistency," the Dutch defender said.

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Goals from Evanilson and Alejandro Jimenez had Bournemouth 2-0 up by the 33rd minute, but Van Dijk pulled one back before the break, and Dominik Szoboszlai levelled with a brilliant free kick in the 80th minute.

The Reds looked set for a fifth draw in a row in the league, but Adli struck in the 95th minute to shatter their visitors and send them back to Merseyside empty-handed.

A 3-0 win over Marseille in the Champions League in midweek suggested that Arne Slot's side might be rediscovering their form, but Bournemouth's late winner prompted questions about Liverpool's morale and ability to close out games.

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"I don't think there's any question about that togetherness, but the consistency that we're looking for, that's something still needs to be found, and that's the reality," Van Dijk said.

"I think there was a lot of praise for our performances and a lot of individual praise, and we know how it works, and three days later, you lose a game like we did today and then the other side of the world comes out, so that's something we have to deal with.

"But you know, we want to perform, we want to win games, and unfortunately, today it didn't happen."

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The defeat leaves Liverpool languishing in fourth place on 36 points, 14 behind leaders Arsenal, who face Manchester United on Monday (AEDT), while Bournemouth move up to 13th on 30 points.

Elsewhere, Manchester City returned to winning ways with a 2-0 defeat of bottom club Wolverhampton Wanderers, moving them four points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal.

City manager Pep Guardiola left leading scorer Erling Haaland out of the starting line-up, but they got their first league win in nearly a month thanks to goals by Omar Marmoush and new signing Antoine Semenyo.

West Ham United beat Sunderland 3-1 at home for a second successive league win, with captain Jarrod Bowen setting a club record with an assist and a goal in the win.

They remain third from bottom but have closed the gap on 17th-placed Nottingham Forest to two points ahead of Forest's game at Brentford.

Second-from-bottom Burnley drew a third successive Premier League game as Cristian Romero's late equaliser for Tottenham Hotspur in a 2-2 draw denied them a precious victory.

Fulham moved up to seventh in the table as they came from a goal down to beat Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 - Harry Wilson scoring with a brilliant late free kick at Craven Cottage.

Yasin Ayari had put Brighton in front in the first half, but substitute Samuel Chukwueze equalised.

City went into their clash with improving Wolves on a barren run of three draws and one defeat from their previous four league games, and with this week's 3-1 defeat at Bodo/Glimt in the Champions League still fresh in their minds.

Their slump has allowed Arsenal to forge ahead at the top and has coincided with Haaland's loss of form, with the Norwegian scoring only once in his last eight games in all competitions before the game against Wolves.

Guardiola said the striker was 'exhausted' after an intense fixture schedule, and his decision to freshen things up against Wolves paid dividends. Starting ahead of Haaland in his first league action since the Africa Cup of Nations, Marmoush put City ahead in the sixth minute with his first league goal of the season, firing home from Matheus Nunes's cross.

Semenyo, signed two weeks ago from Bournemouth, doubled City's lead in first-half stoppage time with his first league goal for the club, unleashing a fierce low shot past Jose Sa.

City gave a debut to centre back Marc Guehi, signed earlier in the week from Crystal Palace, while Haaland came off the bench in the 74th minute.