Ekitike the real deal, same old problems – three things learned in win vs Bournemouth
Liverpool beat Bournemouth 4-2 thanks to two late goals in the Premier League’s curtain-raiser on Friday.
The Reds took a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Hugo Ekitike and Cody Gakpo, but were pulled back by an Antoine Semenyo brace.
Federico Chiesa restored their lead in the 88th minute while Mo Salah put the icing on the cake with a goal in stoppage time.
Here are three things we learned from Liverpool’s opening league game.
Hugo Ekitike enjoys goalscoring league debut
Ekitike made a dream introduction to Liverpool fans with a goal after four minutes in the Community Shield.
Now, he has followed that up with a goal and an assist on his Premier League debut.
The former Eintracht Frankfurt striker was a menace to the Crystal Palace defence throughout the game. He was Liverpool’s star man, and the supporters will be excited to see what more is to come from him.
Arne Slot knows his squad and should be trusted
There were doubts among Liverpool fans when Slot replaced Florian Wirtz with Chiesa while Liverpool were chasing a winning goal.
After all, Wirtz is the £100million man who is supposed to have the key to unlocking any defence.
Yet, Chiesa popped up with a goal six minutes later to send the Anfield crowd into raptures.
| Liverpool | Bournemouth | |
| Goals | 4 | 2 |
| Shots on goal | 19 | 10 |
| Possession | 61 | 39 |
Slot knows his squad and can be trusted to make impactful substitutions.
Liverpool fans may need to be patient with Wirtz as he adjusts to the pace of the Premier League. He didn’t have his best game against Bournemouth, but he’ll surely improve with time.
Meanwhile, Chiesa proved his worth to the fans after a summer of speculation about him leaving Liverpool.
New season, same old refereeing problems
This game wasn’t devoid of controversy.
Slot was fuming after Bournemouth defender Marcos Senesi handled the ball on the halfway line, seemingly preventing Ekitike from running through on goal.
Referee Anthony Taylor gave the free-kick, but no further action was taken against Senesi. Many pundits watching the game insisted it should have been a red card.
The Premier League posted an official explanation of the decision, suggesting it wasn’t a clear mistake, but this is nothing but the latest example of incompetent officiating.
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