Alan Shearer lambasts Jeremie Frimpong for what he did in Bournemouth vs Liverpool: ‘I don’t know what he’s thinking’
Alan Shearer has destroyed Jeremie Frimpong after a moment of madness during Liverpool’s 3-2 defeat away at Bournemouth on Saturday.
Goals from Evanilson and Alex Jimenez put the hosts into a two-goal lead in the first half, before efforts from Virgil van Dijk and Dominik Szoboszlai had the game level by the 80th minute.
Liverpool were then beaten by Amine Adli’s strike deep into stoppage time, as the winger bundled the ball home from close range to condemn Arne Slot’s side to another difficult defeat.
The Reds are now winless in their last five Premier League games, with their last league victory coming against Wolves on 27 December, and their defensive performance has been heavily scrutinised following their defeat.
Alan Shearer tears Jeremie Frimpong apart for Evanilson goal
Liverpool fans have cut into Van Dijk after he made a pair of calamitous errors in the build-up to Bournemouth’s first goal.
The Dutchman failed to clear a looping ball over the top from the hosts, and then also failed to block Lewis Cook’s hooked ball across the face of goal.
Evanilson was on hand to turn home from close range to set the hosts on their way, but Shearer felt that Van Dijk was far from the only man to blame from the visitors’ perspective.
The former Newcastle striker was keen to emphasise the role that Frimpong played in the goal, as footage showed the right-back bizarrely race out of the box and neglect his marking duties after Liverpool had cleared a previous attack.
“Liverpool today were so easy to defend against, especially defensively,” Shearer said on Match of the Day.
“The first goal, there were so many things wrong with it. Van Dijk should clear it; there’s no doubt about that, and then he should block it after his error.
“Just watch the two full-backs here. I don’t know what Frimpong is thinking or where he’s going, you’ve got to smell the danger.
“When the ball comes in, just look where the two full-backs are. If (Joe) Gomez misses that, then Frimpong should be in there.”
Liverpool need to add a new right-back before 2 February
Football Insider revealed at the end of November that Liverpool are unlikely to target a new right-back in the January window, but that will surely now change after Frimpong’s latest display.
Conor Bradley is set to be sidelined for the remainder of the season with a knee injury, while Calvin Ramsay is clearly not trusted enough by Slot, given that his only appearance of the season so far came in the Carabao Cup back in October.
That leaves Frimpong as the only genuine option to play on the right side of defence, which is far from ideal for Slot given his natural attacking instincts, especially when it comes to awkward away trips.
Szboszlai and Curtis Jones are both capable but makeshift alternatives, but dropping either back into the role means the Reds lose something out of their midfield at the same time.
As a result, it must surely now be a priority for them to get a new right-back through the door before the 2 February deadline, or they could live to regret it as the second half of the season unfolds.