After watching a two-goal lead slip away to Bournemouth, Federico Chiesa restored order, scoring to give Liverpool the win in a 4-2 victory over Bournemouth on Friday to kick off the Premier League season. The Reds went ahead 2-0 after only 49 minutes before Antoine Semenyo did everything that he could to will Bournemouth back into the match after it was stopped during the 30th minute due to Semenyo reporting to the referee that he was racially abused while taking a throw-in.
Kicking off the season at Anfield was a bittersweet affair for Liverpool, but it’s one that was made better with new signing Hugo Ekitike grabbing his first goal for the club en route to a victory. The stadium honored Diogo Jota with his number 20 displayed in the stands while the Liverpool faithful sang “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” paying tribute to the player who died this summer in a car crash with his brother in Spain.
In the match, Liverpool coach Arne Slot broke in an XI that included four new signings who didn’t miss a beat. During a stop-and-start match, Liverpool controlled the clash even with Florian Wirtz not being at his best. With a goal and an assist, the new signing who delivered the most was Ekitike after joining from Eintracht Frankfurt. Involved in almost every attack, he brings the question to light of do Liverpool even need Alexander Isak, who is pushing for a move from Newcastle United?
As for Bournemouth, they have seen most of their starting defense depart during the summer, but Ekitike had a well-placed finish for his goal, along with a strong assist to show why he joined the Reds. Slot again pushed the right buttons from the bench with Cheisa scoring his first Liverpool goal only seven minutes after entering the match. In stoppage time, Mohamed Salah added an exclamation point to the affair, and this was a true picture of what Liverpool will look like this season.
Finding out how the new players fit together is a challenge for Slot, but starting off the season with all three points, this is a Liverpool squad that can repeat as Premier League champions and can deliver even when their defense is not at its best.
Excellent Ekitike
It’s quite a debut for Ekitike after joining during the summer. He didn’t miss a beat, dropping deep to help orchestrate the attack and making the most of his shots to score and assist a goal. It felt like he was always in Slot’s side, and with a debut like that, the future of the nine is in good hands. Liverpool will need contributions all season to overcome the frailty of the defense. Milos Kerkez was targeted by Bournemouth and lost his matchups with Semenyo, but the Liverpool attack ensured that they wouldn’t drop points. Eventually, the Reds will need the defense to tighten, but as long as they can put the ball in the back of the net, there won’t be an issue with picking up points.
An unfortunate stoppage
While Liverpool won the match, it wasn’t all sunshine at Anfield with a stoppage in the 30th minute due to a racial incident.
“I am told via the Premier League match center that Antoine Semenyo was the subject of a racist comment from the crowd,” Peter Drury said during the USA Network broadcast of the match. “It was Semenyo himself who brought attention to it.”
Semenyo responded in the best way possible, scoring two goals, the second of which leveled the match after a long solo breakaway run for Bournemouth. The Premier League will be investigating the incident.
What’s next for Liverpool?
The title defense will head to a fascinating place for the Reds in facing Newcastle United at St. James’ Park next week. With Isak being frozen out of the squad and wanting to push for a move to Liverpool, it creates more drama for that clash, but Ekitike is doing everything that he can to show that he should lead the line, no matter who comes in.
