Ekitike's brilliance masks Liverpool's weaknesses

Football writer Alex Keble analyses Liverpool's thrilling 4-2 victory over AFC Bournemouth in the opening match of the 2025/26 Premier League season.

After Federico Chiesa’s perfect volley set the Kop alight and won a frantic, somewhat delirious Premier League opener, Arne Slot would have had every right to indulge in an inspired substitution.

Instead he refused to join in with the celebrations and, wide-eyed, pointed repeatedly to his own temple. He knew, even so late on, the fifth goal of the game might not be the last.

He knew that Liverpool had been vulnerable on the break. He knew that after letting a 2-0 lead slip, his team would be fortunate to get away with the three points.

And Slot will know that all future opponents have taken note of how Bournemouth, and Crystal Palace before them in the Community Shield, poked holes in a Liverpool side that suddenly appear overloaded in attack and undercooked in defence.

Thankfully for Liverpool, Mohamed Salah added a fourth goal to secure the points on what was a dazzling night of football; an explosion of confetti to raise the curtain on the 2025/26 Premier League season.

If this is a sign of things to come, bring it on.

But it was also a poignant evening at Anfield as Liverpool commemorated Diogo Jota with a moving pre-match tribute. Many of the players looked emotional beforehand, chief among them Salah, who broke down in tears at full-time.

The Liverpool players, staff and supporters will be grieving throughout this campaign. It will no doubt affect the club for a long time to come and nothing that happens on the pitch will heal the pain.

But football’s simple pleasures can provide a welcome distraction and Chiesa’s winner, HIS FIRST premier League goal, did at least give the Liverpool players and fans one of those special Anfield moments.

Liverpool have new defensive issues as full-backs struggle

Hugo Ekitike’s goal and assist in a Roberto Firmino-like role, as well as an impressive stint from Florian Wirtz, were huge positives. But that isn’t what Slot will be focusing on, not after a second-half collapse that so nearly cost Liverpool two points.

The issues were almost identical to those against Palace: too many attacking players in midfield, leaving them short on cover when counter-attacking opportunities arise, and a worrying softness in both full-back positions.

It was the latter problem that reared its head from the outset. Milos Kerkez was beaten several times – even nutmegged on one occasion in the first half – and was frequently caught out of position, a problem made all the more alarming by the fact Andoni Iroala, Kerkez’s former head coach, appeared to see it coming.

Iraola sprung a surprise by fielding Antoine Semenyo on the right, presumably to get at Kerkez – and it worked. By the time the new Liverpool left-back was booked for a lunge in the 43rd minute he was already very much on the back foot.

Bournemouth missed two good first-half chances from attacks down the wing, with David Brooks also getting behind Jeremie Frimpong too often, but it was on the hour mark that Liverpool’s problems really began to show.

Slot’s substitutions backfire twice – revealing concerns in midfield

Remarkably, it came after Slot decided to react to the issue by substituting both full-backs.

Midfielder Wataru Endo badly struggled as a makeshift right-back, getting caught ahead of the play for Bournemouth’s first goal and then continuing to be outmanoeuvred by the Bournemouth attack as Iraola’s side cranked up the pressure.

Andrew Robertson also failed to track Semenyo for the Ghanaian’s first strike. Two sets of full-backs, two sets of problems.

So, Slot changed full-backs again. And it backfired again.

The equaliser had felt inevitable for 10 minutes before it eventually came, this time Joe Gomez, on at right-back, with Endo moving centrally, needlessly running ahead of play to leave Liverpool vulnerable to a second Bournemouth counter-attacking goal.

By now, however, a bigger issue had reared its head. As at Wembley, Liverpool’s new-look midfield lacked defensive cover to screen against those counter-attacks, instead leaving enormous holes for Bournemouth to play through-balls.

For the first goal, note that Dominik Szoboszlai and Florian Wirtz are ahead of play as dual No 8s – the exact same issue as Liverpool found against Palace – leaving Alexis Mac Allister to cover far too much space.

Bournemouth's first goal

For the second, Gomez (out of shot) is the furthest Liverpool player forward, but of equal concern is all three Liverpool midfielders – including supposed defensive midfield Endo – ahead of the play when the ball turns over.

Bournemouth's second goal

In conversation with Jamie Carragher on Sky Sports, Slot acknowledged the full-backs could have been deeper to stop that second goal, although he also said, tellingly: “That’s also who we were and who we are, and that’s why you see such a nice game when you see Liverpool.”

Last season’s title was all about control; taming some of the wilder Jurgen Klopp football. Tonight, deliberate or not, saw the needle swing back.

Semenyo brilliant for Bournemouth, but defensive sales have hit them hard

Semenyo’s brace summed up a fantastic individual performance, one made all the more impressive by his ability to play after a report that he had been racially abused in the first half.

“I don’t know how Ants played on to be honest and came up with those goals,” Adam Smith told Sky Sports after the game. “It’s just totally unacceptable.”

Semenyo was excellent in the second half especially, capitalising on Liverpool’s defensive issues to drag Bournemouth back into the match.

But although Liverpool’s defence struggled, Bournemouth’s was arguably even shakier, which is little wonder after losing Kerkez, Dean Huijsen and Illia Zabarnyi over the summer.

Clumsy defending from Marcos Senesi allowed Hugo Ekitike to bundle through for the first goal; Cody Gakpo easily danced past three players to score the second; and two Bournemouth defenders going for the same ball allowed Chiesa to score the winner.

It was haphazard defending, more than it was good attacking play, that gave us six goals and a wildly end-to-end Premier League opener.

Not that anyone, Cherries fans aside, will care why. The Premier League is back with an almighty bang.