Late goals from Federico Chiesa and Mohamed Salah gave champions Liverpool a dramatic 4-2 victory over AFC Bournemouth as the 2025/26 Premier League campaign got off to a thrilling start at Anfield.
Hugo Ekitike had a goal and an assist in an impressive Premier League debut to put Arne Slot's team in control, with the forward netting a first-half opener before teeing up Cody Gakpo shortly after the interval.
But Antoine Semenyo single-handedly dragged Bournemouth back into the contest, pulling one back in the 64th minute and then travelling from well inside his own half for a spectacular solo goal 14 minutes from time.
Liverpool were not to be denied, however, as substitute Chiesa reacted quickest to volley home in the 88th minute, restoring the hosts’ lead with his first Premier League goal.
Salah's breakaway effort then made certain of the result in stoppage time as Liverpool went top of the early standings, having paid an emotional tribute to their late forward Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva ahead of kick-off.
How the match unfolded
Both teams went close early on, with Salah’s stinging shot working goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic before Semenyo blazed over at the other end after escaping former Bournemouth team-mate Milos Kerkez.
The game was then paused in the 29th minute following a report of discriminatory abuse from the crowd directed towards Semenyo.
Marcus Tavernier scuffed his effort when Bournemouth created another chance against the run of play in the 35th minute, and it proved costly when they fell behind two minutes later.
Ekitike took Alexis Mac Allister's pass in his stride, and after the ball rebounded back to him off Marcos Senesi, the Frenchman applied a cool side-footed finish.
He turned provider as Liverpool doubled their lead in the 49th minute, with Ekitike offloading to Gakpo, who skipped inside from the left to find the bottom-right corner.
Bournemouth, however, refused to lie down and after Semenyo tucked in David Brooks' precise cross to half the deficit, Anfield was stunned into silence when he travelled from midway inside his own half before drilling home the equaliser.
But the Cherries could not quite hold on for a point as Chiesa – who had replaced Florian Wirtz just six minutes earlier – adjusted his body and fired in a superb finish following a goalmouth scramble.
And Liverpool were not done there as Salah raced forward on the counter to collect Wataru Endo’s long ball and send a right-footed finish across Petrovic four minutes into added time, capping a magnificent contest on the opening night.
Heavy metal football returns to Anfield
Liverpool became renowned for playing "heavy metal football" under Slot's predecessor Jurgen Klopp, but the Dutchman instilled more control in 2024/25 as his side cruised to the title.
However, with the Reds signing exciting quartet Ekitike, Wirtz, Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong ahead of a possible move for Alexander Isak, some believed more end-to-end encounters were in store at Anfield in 2025/26.
That was certainly the case here. Ekitike produced a statement performance up front, having announced himself to English fans with a fine goal against Crystal Palace in the Community Shield last week.
Ekitike's clever movement caused Bournemouth problems early on as he continually dropped deep to evade the visiting centre-backs. He did exactly that for his goal, turning in a midfield position before gliding into the box and finishing with confidence.
But after the forward combined with Gakpo for the second goal, Liverpool began to look fragile defensively. Ibrahima Konate got nowhere near Brooks in the build-up to Semenyo's first goal, then backed off the Ghanaian as he motored forward for the equaliser.
However, the Reds showed the heart of champions to come back and win a game they had thrown away, even after Slot's surprising withdrawals of Frimpong, Kerkez, Ekitike and Wirtz.
Chiesa’s strike spared the hosts’ blushes, while Salah's clinching goal made him the first player in Premier League history to net 10 goals on opening weekends..
With Slot's new-look attack purring, they will approach their trip to Newcastle United on 25 August with confidence.
Positives for Iraola after stirring fightback
Bournemouth may not have left Anfield with any points, but Andoni Iraola – who expressed frustration with their lack of transfer activity earlier this week – had plenty of positives to take away.
Semenyo's brilliant performance was chief among them, with the winger taking the fight to his former team-mate Kerkez at every opportunity.
For his second goal, the 25-year-old began his run inside his own box and still had the presence of mind to place a fine finish beyond Alisson when he reached the other area.
However, Iraola will have been less impressed by Bournemouth's defensive performance, after they lost four of last season's back five in Kepa Arrizabalaga, Kerkez, Dean Huijsen and Illia Zabarnyi.
Senesi came in at centre-back and made a nervy start, with Liverpool feeling he had denied Ekitike a clear goalscoring opportunity via a handball when the ball bounced off his thigh and on to his arm in the 14th minute.
It was ruled that the action was not a clear handball and that the incident took place too far from the goal to be worthy of a red card, but Senesi was also involved in Ekitike's opener as his weak challenge resulted in the ball bouncing back into the 23-year-old's path for a simple one-on-one finish.
Bournemouth are reportedly close to signing Ben Doak from Liverpool, with Cherries winger Dango Ouattara set to join Brentford, but defensive reinforcements may be Iraola's main focus ahead of hosting Wolverhampton Wanderers in eight days' time.
Club reports
Liverpool report | Bournemouth report
What the managers said
Arne Slot: "We started the second half really well, being 2-0 up but we were playing against a team that never gives up.
"You have to give credit to them but they faced a team that is very fit as well."
Andoni Iraola: "It has been a very good game of football. They win the points but we did a lot of good things too.
"Even at 1-0 at half time I was really happy. At the end you can't concede four goals but even with at 2-2 it looked like we had energy, but Liverpool when they need it they find the extra energy."
Next PL fixtures
Key facts
Liverpool extended their unbeaten run on the opening day of a league season to 13 games (W10 D3); only Chelsea have had a longer run without defeat on Matchweek 1 in the competition’s history (18 from 1999/00 to 2016/17).
Hugo Ekitike became only the second player to both score and assist a goal on his Premier League debut for Liverpool, after Darwin Nunez against Fulham in August 2022. Indeed, Ekitike was the first Frenchman to score and assist on his debut in the competition, while the last player of any nationality to do so was Nunez in August 2022.
Cody Gakpo has scored 17 goals in his last 18 starts at Anfield for Liverpool in all competitions, scoring at least once in 11 of his last 12 games as a starter at the ground.
Antoine Semenyo has scored 50 per cent of Bournemouth’s Premier League goals at Anfield (3/6). Indeed, he was the first visiting player to score more than once at the ground in the league since Leandro Trossard scored a hat-trick for Brighton in October 2022.