Liverpool seemingly lost the match, but they won a thrilling victory over Bournemouth

VHO - Liverpool began their journey to defend the Premier League title in 2025/26 with a dramatic 4-2 victory over Bournemouth at Anfield. The match was not only professional but also full of emotion, as the whole stadium paid special tribute to striker Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva - who passed away in a car accident in Spain in July.

Salah in tears remembering Diogo Jota

Special atmosphere at Anfield

Even before the match, the Kop stands and other areas of the stadium simultaneously held up signs that read “DJ20” and “AS30” – corresponding to Jota and Andre Silva’s shirt numbers – as a tribute.

The stadium observed a solemn minute of silence. Liverpool players stood in a circle in the middle of the pitch, while players and coaches from both teams wore mourning armbands.

The chants of “You'll Never Walk Alone” echoed around Anfield, interspersed with special chants for Jota, throughout the match.

Coach Arne Slot said after the match: “The most impressive thing was the power and emotion of the memorial. The banner in the stands, the singing of the audience – everything was so touching and meaningful.”

Hugo Ekitike made the number 2 and 0 sign – Jota's shirt number – after opening the scoring, as a tribute to his ill-fated teammate

Exciting start – Ekitike makes its mark

Entering the match, coach Arne Slot boldly gave the first Premier League starting opportunity to four new recruits: Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez, Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike - a contract worth 69 million pounds from Eintracht Frankfurt.

It was Ekitike who broke the deadlock in the 37th minute. After taking advantage of a mistake by the Bournemouth defence, the France U21 striker coolly beat goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic.

Immediately after the goal, he made the number 2 and 0 hand signals in tribute to Jota – the number 20 shirt has been permanently retired by Liverpool.

Not stopping there, just four minutes after the break, Ekitike continued to shine when he created a pass for Cody Gakpo to dribble past two defenders and finish accurately, doubling the gap for The Kop.

Racism incident and Semenyo's brace

The match was interrupted in the 28th minute when Antoine Semenyo reported to referee Anthony Taylor that a spectator had used racist language.

The Ghanaian was consoled by his teammates but decided to continue playing – and that was the start of a powerful response.

In the 64th minute, taking advantage of Liverpool replacing both full-backs and changing the formation, David Brooks escaped down the left wing and crossed for Semenyo to shorten the score.

In the 76th minute, from a situation where Salah lost the ball near the opponent's penalty area, Bournemouth quickly counter-attacked 4 vs 2 and Semenyo completed his double, bringing the match back to the starting line.

This is a testament to Bournemouth's brave fighting spirit, especially in the context that they have just lost many defensive pillars such as Dean Huijsen, Illia Zabarnyi and Milos Kerkez in the summer transfer window.

Federico Chiesa celebrates scoring the winning goal in the 88th minute, helping Liverpool overcome Bournemouth in the opening match of the 2025/26 Premier League

Chiesa unexpectedly shines – Salah finishes

As the game drew to a close, many thought Bournemouth would leave Anfield with a point.

But in the 88th minute, the “forgotten man” Federico Chiesa – Liverpool’s only signing last summer, who rarely played and seemed to be about to leave the club – suddenly launched an accurate volley, scoring his first goal in the Premier League.

In stoppage time, Mohamed Salah sealed a 4-2 win, increasing his scoring record in Premier League opening matches to 8 goals in 9 seasons.

After the final whistle, Salah was the last to leave the field, his eyes filled with tears as he clapped in response to the Kop crowd's singing for Jota.

Champion spirit, but still many problems

Despite winning all three points, Liverpool showed many shortcomings. The defense was exposed on both wings and lacked solidity in the midfield without Ryan Gravenberch (suspended). The mid-match change in defense also caused the team to lose stability and almost paid the price.

Coach Arne Slot admits there is still work to be done to integrate the talented new recruits. Before the match, Liverpool announced the signing of 18-year-old centre-back Giovanni Leoni from Parma for £23 million, and they could continue to strengthen their squad with the target Marc Guéhi (Crystal Palace) when Ibrahima Konaté is not in good form.

Bournemouth – defeated but with heads held high

Bournemouth start the season with their toughest challenge yet: visiting the defending champions at the "fortress" Anfield.

After a turbulent summer and £147m in player sales, Andoni Iraola's side still displayed disciplined, powerful play and were not afraid to put pressure on their opponents.

Semenyo's excellent form, along with the team spirit built by Iraola, is a bright spot for Bournemouth to confidently look forward to the next rounds.

In addition, the addition of left-back Adrien Truffert and center-back Bafode Diakite from Lille, along with the possibility of recruiting young striker Ben Doak from Liverpool, promises to help the port city team improve the quality of the squad.

Upcoming Match Schedule

• Liverpool: Visit Newcastle United (August 18), host Arsenal at Anfield (August 24).

• Bournemouth: Host Wolverhampton (August 17), meet Brentford in round 2 of the League Cup (August 20).

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/the-thao/tuong-nhu-vo-tran-liverpool-thang-nghet-tho-bournemouth-161440.html