liverpool topples bournemouth in emotional league opener
the hit
“Linger,” The Cranberries (1993)
Never let a lead linger at 2-0. (Also, check out this sweet cover.)
8/15 | Premier league | liverpool 4, bournemouth 2
Lineup: Alisson, Frimpong, Konate, Van Dijk, Kerkez, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Wirtz, Salah, Gakpo, Ekitike. Gravenberch was out due to suspension after picking up a red in the last game of last season.
There was a lot of emotion prior to kickoff. A goosebump-inducing rendition of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” led straight into a moment of silence. The crowd lifted cards to form a giant DJ20 and AS30 in the stands. When the ref’s whistle went, the stadium roared — Liverpool’s cue to take early control.
Ekitike picked up right where he left off in the Community Shield, dropping deep to provide outlets and link-up play. Inside four minutes, he chested down a looping clearance from Van Dijk, swiveled, and played in Salah on the wing. As red and blue shirts swarmed the box, Salah went on his own and unleashed from 20, forcing a flying save from Petrovic, Bournemouth’s new #1 from Chelsea. Moments later, Liverpool worked a corner routine and Salah found the head of Van Dijk, who narrowly headed over.
Then came the foreshadowing. Allowed to run into a channel down the left, Bournemouth’s Truffert swung in an early ball behind the Liverpool backline. Semenyo arrived just in front of the penalty spot and blasted over under pressure from Kerkez, but his powerful running and the pinpoint cross made for a quality chance that could have negated all our positive work in the early stages.
Individual Liverpool performances were mixed. At one outside back position, Frimpong shined from the start with his pace, work rate, and good decision making, keeping it simple. At the other, Kerkez struggled — due in part to sharing a side with Semenyo, Bournemouth’s best player, but due mostly to overeagerness and rashness. He was on the wrong end of a nutmeg or two, one of which led to an open shot for Tavernier. A late sliding challenge put him in the book as well, gifting the visitors a free kick in a dangerous spot.
In midfield, Macca looked closer to full fitness. Szoboszlai pressed and dictated play with his typical energy. Every Wirtz touch and pass was buttery smooth, but it has to be said that the intensity of the game seemed to surprise him at times. “Off your foot” was a common refrain among me and my friends. He was tackled from behind more than once while he surveyed his passing options, and his attempts to slalom between defenders saw him muscled off the ball. American Tyler Adams man-marked him effectively for long periods. Don’t get me wrong — he’ll adjust, and his quality will win us games. He’s just going to get a few dead legs while he learns.
Salah, besides the early shot and cross, continued to feel his way into the game. Gakpo and Ekitike, on the other hand, had a much clearer impact, and on 37’, Ekitike was rewarded. After some patient buildup, Macca threaded a pass that found Hugo between the lines. He turned, ran at the heart of the Bournemouth defense, and suddenly found himslef 1v1 with Petrovic, courtesy of fortunate bobble off of Senesi. Now, I will always love Darwin Nunez, the craziest son of a bitch to ever play for Liverpool. But in this exact situation, 12 yards from goal, he would have put his head down and hit the ball with 100% power directly off of the keeper’s shins. Hugo squared up, waited for Petrovic to cheat left just a little, and nonchalantly rolled the ball into the right side of the goal before wheeling away and paying tribute to Diogo with a number 20 hand gesture.
Our two most involved attackers didn’t waste any time trying to stretch the lead. After a Joel Matip-esque run from Konate, Gakpo received the ball on the wing, cut inside, and dropped a perfect cross on Ekitike’s head. His jump was mistimed, which is too bad, because at 6’3” he made Bournemouth’s defenders look like they hadn’t bothered to jump with him. Ekitike is gangly and uncoventional, failing to pass the eye test that Wirtz, for instance, passes the first millisecond he steps on the field. But Hugo’s huge, he’s got great feet, and he’s constantly involved in the chances we create. I have a feeling he’s going to score a ton of goals.
To close out my first-half recap, I’d like to give a shoutout to VAR for making us feel right at home again in the opening fixture of the 25/26 Premier League season. It took less than 13 minutes for them to remind us of their astounding incompetence, deeming the deliberate handball that prevented Ekitike from a clear run at goal totally fine. Unsurprisingly, Anthony Taylor failed to call it on the field, too. Good process, lads!
When Ekitike and Gakpo combined again at the start of the second half, and Gakpo punctuated a dribble across the box with an emphatic finish, I have to admit I made the rookie mistake we’ve all made at 2-0: I relaxed and mentally concluded the game was over. But 2-0 in soccer is a lead so dangerous it could be a passage from a Richard Connell story. Anyone? “The World’s Most Dangerous Game?”
We continued to look like the better team in the 20 minutes that followed, too, dominating possession and just missing out on the goal that would’ve made it 3-0 — a sweeping Wirtz effort that cleared the far post by inches. But then Dom Szoboszlai tried to split two Bournemouth midfielders with a behind-the-leg flick and, in a move almost identical to the one from the first half, Adams found Brooks, who crossed an early ball along the floor from left to right. This time Semenyo got goalside of Robertson and Van Dijk, and this time he didn’t miss.
I should mention that less than five minutes prior, Frimpong was replaced at right back by Wataru Endo. (After the game, Slot clarified it was because Frimpong was slightly concerned about his hamstring. I can assure you no one else knew this at the time and we were all very confused.)
Slot and the staff relented, pushed Wata into midfield, and introduced Gomez soon after it went 2-1 — a player you’d presume they would’ve liked to leave on the bench after such a recent return to fitness. Gomez’s cameo was largely positive, but he was one of our eight outfield players in the Bournemouth box when Salah miscued a pass to Szoboszlai on 75’. Semenyo led the break toward the stranded Virgil and Ibou, carrying the ball himself from the edge of his box to ours before shifting onto his left and rifling a banger past the wrong-footed Alisson.
Slot, now in need of a complete vibe reversal and ultimately a game-winning goal, doubled down on his unexpected substitution strategy on 82’ by replacing Wirtz with Federico Chiesa, who made six league appearances last season, didn’t score a single league goal, and has been considered halfway out the exit door all summer.
He scored six minutes later.
For the second time in the game, Alisson dropped an absolute dime from one end of the pitch to the other — this time picking out Szoboszlai, who cushioned the ball down to Salah. His teasing cross was batted away in a panic by Petrovic, and before the ball hit the ground, Chiesa sent it into the net with a slicing volley. Bedlam. Sitting at the bar in Saints Pizza Pub of Louisville, KY, nearly four-thousand miles from Anfield, I couldn’t help but scream, “Chiesa!” as Federico executed the perfect knee slide in front of the Kop. A guy playing Golden Tee turned and looked at me as if to say, “it’s soccer.”
Mo Salah scored in stoppage time in the most classic Mo Salah way, turning what should have been a nervy last three minutes into a celebration, and continuing his tradition of opening day goals: he’s scored on eight of his nine opening league games for Liverpool. With four Bournemouth men better positioned, he beat them all to an Endo clearance, turned the ball onto his right, and prodded it into the far post through traffic. Petrovic simply laid on his belly, defeated at last.
Parting thoughts:
Bournemouth is insanely well-coached. Andoni Iraola is as tactically astute as they come and he motivates his players to run and scrap with total commitment. I’m glad this one is out of the way — they’re going to cause good teams major problems again this season.
Gotta keep Chiesa at this point. Not just for the depth, but the song.
Gotta stop getting caught with too many men too high. This has been a problem dating back to the Milan friendly.
Tip of the cap to Mo Salah, not only for rectifying a so-so performance with a clutch goal, but also for being vulnerable in front of the Kop and all those watching on TV as Diogo’s song was sung. It was a poignant reminder of how fresh the tragedy is, how much the players and staff will continue to need support, and how guys don’t need to be ashamed of showing their emotions.
Greatest kudos of all to Antoine Semenyo, who responded to racist abuse by scoring two goals and later shared a wise, classy message via social media. What a guy and what a player. It’s nauseating to see someone from your own fanbase scream racist things at someone. Thankfully, the reaction and investigation has been spot-on and he’ll never set foot in Anfield again.