Liverpool suffered a late injury blow after Joel Matip pulled out of the squad with an ankle injury just ahead of their clash against Bournemouth, which they lost 4-3 despite leading 2-0 at the break.
The 25-year-old defender made the trip with the rest of the squad to the south coast, but was withdrawn from the squad at the last minute after Jurgen Klopp decided not to risk him, according to the Liverpool Echo. Lucas Leiva started in place of the Cameroon international and partnered Dejan Lovren at the heart of Liverpools defence.
The Reds got off to a flyer scoring two goals within the first 25 minutes and were on course to return to second place on the Premier League table – Arsenal had moved up a place following their win over West Ham United on Saturday – but faltered in the second-half and allowed Bournemouth back into the game.
The Cherries made it 2-1 in the 56th minute via a penalty which James Milner conceded following a foul on Ryan Fraser. The comeback, however, looked to be nipped at the bud as Emre Can made it 3-1 less than 10 minutes later. Bournemouth were not willing to throw in the towel and scored two goals in two minutes to level the game, before Chelsea loanee Nathan Ake ensured the hosts took all three points with a goal in the third minute of added time, when he took advantage of an error from Reds goalkeeper Loris Karius.
Matips absence was clearly felt during the game as the former Schalke defender had forged a strong understanding with Lovren and the duo had conceded just four goals in their last six games. He is expected to return sooner rather than later as the injury is minor, but Klopp will be assessing his options at centre-back going into the latter half of the season in the mix for the title.
