Liverpool struggled to get a 4-2 victory over Bournemouth in the opening round of the Premier League 2025/26. Here are 5 prominent things recorded from this match.
1. Grateful Dio Jota
Before the ball rolled, Anfield spent a minute of recitation for Diogo Jota and his younger brother Andre Silva, who were killed in the car accident in the summer. Unlike the minute of interrupted Mindfulness at Wembley, this time all were made solemnly.
Banners and flags named Jota appear throughout the stands. During the match, the fans were constantly singing the song for him. After the siren, Salah stood in front of The Kop standing with Ngan Le's eyes – a moment that reminded that this season of Liverpool would always bring loss.
2. Hugo Ekitike is promising
After the excellent performance against Crystal Palace, Ekitike continued to shine in the match against Bournemouth. The opening goal was quite lucky but also had to recognize his calm in the finish.
Liverpool is still trying to recruit Alexander Isak. But if not successful, they may not be too worried when there are ekitike. With a fee of about 79 million pounds, Ekitike is integrating quite quickly with the Premier League environment at the age of 23.
3. Mac Allister proves value
The match against Crystal Palace at Wembley showed that Liverpool lacked balance between public and defense. In this match, when Mac Allister was present, the team better controlled in the middle before the intense pressure from Bournemouth.
The Argentine midfielder has not yet reached the best physical condition after injury, but it is clear that he makes a difference by softening when there is a shadow and drastic dispute. The combination of Mac Allister and Szoboszlai is still creating a balance, as long as the Hungarian midfielder is not too risky.
When Mac Allister left the field, Liverpool was active, and Bournemouth almost flipped the flag. Slot will have to calculate when bringing Ryan Gravenberch back, but obviously Mac Allister is a must -have factor.
4. New duo border defender
Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong had their first experience together in the Liverpool shirt in the Premier League. They mainly focused on defense, limited to the ball, but still left a positive impression, except for the situation that Kerkez was fined for the late ball.
Although it still needs more time to prove, this is a pretty good debut of the new Liverppol -wing couple. They promise to be the new wings to raise The Reds after the period of Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
5. The attack is marked
The pace of the match in the first minutes was really overwhelmed. Referee Anthony Taylor has difficulty catching up with the situation, leading to some controversial decisions that makes Slot react strongly.
Wirtz and Ekitike are experienced “greetings” from English football, but quickly catch up. The Kop fans chanted Ekitike right in the debut. He decreased physically in the second half but will soon improve.
Luckily for Liverpool, the match was remembered by the goal and performance of Ekitike, instead of dropping the score when led. The great work belonged to Chiesa, who was cold to send the message that he still had a lot of values.
