Slot: Liverpool needed some luck to beat Bournemouth

Arne Slot admitted Liverpool rode their luck to go nine points clear at the top of the Premier League as Mohamed Salah inspired a controversial 2-0 win at Bournemouth on Saturday.

Slot's side took the lead in the first half when Salah netted with a penalty awarded after Cody Gakpo appeared to trip over his own feet rather than go down from Lewis Cook's challenge.

Gakpo was barely onside as well, with Bournemouth left outraged after referee Darren England's on-field decision was upheld by VAR.

Bournemouth's David Brooks was denied an equaliser by an equally tight offside against Milos Kerkez in the build-up.

Salah added insult to injury for Bournemouth when he struck again late in the second half to extend Liverpool's lead over second-placed Arsenal.

The Egypt forward has 21 goals from 23 league games this season, reaching the 20-mark for the fifth time in his English top-flight career.

Liverpool are unbeaten in 19 league games, winning 17 of their 23 top-flight matches in a remarkable run since Slot replaced Jurgen Klopp in the close season.

Pursuing an English record-equalling 20th title and their first in the competition since 2020, Liverpool can sit back and wait to see if old rivals Manchester City do them a favour against  Arsenal on Sunday.

"If you want to win here maybe you need a bit of luck because the margins are so small," Slot said. 

"Our penalty was just not offside, their goal on 1-1 was on the margin offside, they hit the post twice.

"We had our chances as well but it was a close call for us to win this game. We weren't unlucky, let's put it this way."

Bournemouth had already beaten Manchester City, Arsenal and high-flying Nottingham Forest at home this season.

Slot acknowledged the Cherries had given Liverpool one of their toughest tests this term, with Antoine Semenyo and Marcus Tavernier both hitting the woodwork.

Semenyo was also denied by a superb save from Liverpool keeper Alisson Becker as Bournemouth's 11-game unbeaten run in the league came to an end.

"I haven't seen it back but one of my players is on a clear one-v-one with the goalkeeper and he's fallen down," Slot said of the Gakpo penalty incident. 

"So either he makes a dive or they touch him. If they touch him that for me is a penalty.

"I can come up with three, four, five examples where we didn't have the luck or the decision we deserved this season. 

"That's always the difficult thing in football, people will always say there's that luck for Liverpool or for the one that is the one that is number one at the moment."

Trent Alexander-Arnold was forced off injured in the second half and Slot said he would be surprised if the defender is fit for Thursday's League Cup semi-final second leg against Tottenham.

Quadruple-chasing Liverpool will try to overturn a 1-0 first leg deficit when Ange Postecoglou's struggling side visit Anfield.