By Liam McLaughlan
The 2025-2026 Premier League season was officially christened with drama, emotion, and controversy as Liverpool edged past Bournemouth with a 4-2 win at Anfield on Friday.
Liverpool new-boy Hugo Ekitike put the hosts ahead in the first-half, scoring on his competitive Anfield debut. Bournemouth held their own in Merseyside however, matching Liverpool’s intensity in the opening 45 minutes.
Liverpool came out strongly after the break, quickly doubling their lead through Cody Gakpo’s strike.
Seemingly down and out, Andoni Iraola’s men responded by exploiting Liverpool’s high defensive line with Antoine Semenyo striking twice to claw the game back level for the Cherries.
This set up a thrilling final ten minutes of the game as both teams sought a deciding goal.
Forgotten man Frederico Chiesa broke the deadlock, slotting home in the 88th minute, before Salah rounded off the scoring with his customary season-opening goal in the 94th minute.
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Racist incident sours contest
While Chiesa’s resurgence should have been the story of the match, the contest was unfortunately overshadowed by alleged racist abuse directed toward Antoine Semenyo by a member of the Anfield crowd.
Referee Anthony Taylor paused the game in the 29th minute after Semenyo reported abuse from the crowd. Taylor swiftly communicated this to both managers.
A 47-year-old man in a wheelchair was later identified as the alleged perpetrator and removed from the stadium by police at half time.
After the game, Bournemouth head coach Andoni Iraola praised Semenyo’s composure.
He said: “In the heat of the moment I think Antoine understood the situation. He was calm. We asked him if he was okay to continue. The head always goes in these things and for sure he is asking why this is happening today.”
“Antoine started the season the same way he finished the last one. Different goals, the first more a combination to the left and he arrives well, the second one more he takes it by himself and a good finish.”
After the game, the Football Association (FA) released a statement condemning the incident:
“We are very concerned about the allegation of discrimination from an area of the crowd… Incidents of this nature have no place in our game, and we will work closely with the match officials, the clubs and the relevant authorities to establish the facts and ensure the appropriate action is taken.”
Semenyo later took to Instagram, sharing a separate racist message he received, alongside the caption: “when will it stop.”
This situation follows only two days after Tottenham striker Mathys Tel was subjected to racial abuse online after missing in the penalty shootout in the UEFA Super Cup – raising ongoing questions about the sport’s failure to adequately protect players from racism.
A night of emotion for Anfield crowd
Beyond the football and the controversy, the Anfield crowd was united in mourning for the late Diogo Jota.
A minute’s silence opened the match, followed by chants of Jota’s name throughout the night.
Ekitike celebrated his goal by signalling Jota’s shirt number, while Salah honoured his former teammate with Jota’s signature crocodile-arm celebration.
The Egyptian appeared visibly emotional after the match, tearing up as the crowd serenaded in memory of the Portuguese forward.
Head coach Arne Slot said: “The banner that the Kop showed, the way ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ was sung, the way they sung the song for Diogo before the game, in the first minute, after 20 minutes, after the game. It was all so, so impressive and so powerful.”
Mixed bag for new-look Liverpool
Florian Wirtz, Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong, and Hugo Ekitike all made their competitive Anfield debuts on Friday.
Ekitike earned Man of the Match for his performance, dazzling with his combination of crafty link up play and sharp finishing.
The Frenchman is quickly establishing himself as a fan favourite, and will only improve as he adapts to the physicality of the English top-flight.
Less can be said for Milos Kerkez, who gave Liverpool fans flashbacks to the days of Alberto Moreno in the left-back position.
While his pace and width were valuable going forward, his recklessness earned him a yellow card for a poor challenge on Semenyo, showing a tendency to be overly aggressive on the tackle.
Wirtz, despite showing flashes of why Liverpool paid £116 million for him, lacked enough consistency to impact the game.
He dawdled on the ball at times and appeared to struggle with the physicality of the league, serving as a reminder that adaptation to the Premier League takes time for even the most elite of talents.
What can we expect from Liverpool this season?
This exciting opener offered a glimpse into what this new-look Liverpool side under Slot might become: Dangerous and fluid, but exposed defensively.
This is a departure from the Liverpool of last season, who managed to keep control of games with effective, controlled possession on the way to their 20th league title.
Offensively, the Reds looked sharp with Wirtz and Ekitike linking beautifully and finding ways to maximise Salah.
But defensively, Slot’s system, with two full-backs joining the attack in Kerkez and Frimpong, left the team susceptible to counter attacks.
At one point in the game, Liverpool had eight players in the final third of the pitch, leaving only Konate and Van Dijk to deal with Bournemouth’s devastating counters.
This ‘high-risk, high-reward’ approach might need balancing if Liverpool are to challenge across the season.
Under Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool’s attacking full-backs were allowed to fly forward as the team was balanced by a disciplined midfield trio of Jordan Henderson, Georgino Wijnaldium, and Fabinho who covered the full-back’s vacated space and protected the defence from transitional threats.
Returning to a similar structure could benefit Liverpool greatly, particularly in high-intensity games, such as the upcoming fixtures with Newcastle and Arsenal.
In pursuit of being the first Liverpool team to retain their league title in nearly 40 years, they need to be careful not to abandon the principles that helped them succeed in the first place.
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