Liverpool Begin Title Defence With Thriller Against Bournemouth

News Desk

Islamabad: Liverpool scored twice late on to begin their Premier League title defence with a dramatic win over Bournemouth on an emotional night at Anfield.

The match was marked by tributes to Diogo Jota and his brother, Andre Silva, who tragically died in a car accident in July. A minute’s silence was held before kick-off, and fans applauded in the 20th minute in honour of Jota’s number 20 shirt.

New head coach Arne Slot handed Premier League debuts to four of his summer signings, with £70 million forward Hugo Ekitike opening the scoring eight minutes before half-time with a calm finish.

Ekitike then turned provider shortly after the break, assisting Cody Gakpo to double Liverpool’s lead.

However, the game was briefly paused in the first half when Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo reported racial abuse from a member of the crowd to referee Anthony Taylor.

Displaying resilience, Semenyo brought Bournemouth back into the match with a goal from close range in the 64th minute, and then struck again 14 minutes from time to level the score.

Just as Bournemouth looked set to claim a point, Federico Chiesa scored his first Premier League goal for Liverpool in the 88th minute, with Mohamed Salah adding a fourth shortly after to seal the win in front of the Kop.

The season opener was briefly halted due to an incident involving alleged racial abuse.