Hugo Ekitiké shines and Liverpool survive huge Bournemouth scare on matchday 1 of the 2025-26 Premier League season.
It wasn’t perfect, but the Reds came through in the end and scored two late goals to get the new season started with three points.
Hugo Ekitiké found himself in the scoresheet yet again and also provided the assist for Cody Gakpo to put Liverpool 2-0 up in what seemed like an unfair, yet safe result. Antoine Semenyo then scored a brace to put the Cherries level, but Federico Chiesa saved the day and Mo Salah sealed the win.
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The Egyptian also became the first ever player to score 10 matchday 1 goals in Premier League history. He’s managed to record at least one direct goal involvement in every single opening game he’s played for the Reds.
Liverpool had a two-goal cushion twice in the game, but it wasn’t nearly as calm of a win as the final score may indicate. Here are four things we learned from these thrilling 90 minutes that reminded us why we love the Premier League and how much we missed it over the summer.
Ekitiké turning into Liverpool’s focal point
Liverpool have played without a true number nine for many years now, whether that’s because Roberto Firmino operated better dropping deep or because Darwin Nunez couldn’t capitalise on the (many) chances he had.
Still, the lack of a goalscoring forward was never a problem since their wingers took over this responsibility with ease – especially Salah.
It may be soon, but Ekitiké might just be starting to show himself as a reliable option to share this burden with the No.11. He provides physical presence inside the box, gets in good spots to finish, but moves around a lot, opening up spaces dropping deep but also exploring other gaps behind the defence.
Tonight, it showed in the form of one beautiful goal in which he set his own run up by dragging Bafode Diakite out of the box and going around him to get momentum going forward in the central corridor. And then assisted Cody Gakpo’s goal early in the second half.
The Frenchman was involved in almost everything that Liverpool did well in the attacking half against Bournemouth. This, however, leads to a complicated puzzle that is actually our next topic.
Arne Slot tinkering with Liverpool’s front line
Liverpool went into this game with basically the same XI that started the Community Shield against Crystal Palace. The difference was Alexis Mac Allister in Curtis Jones’ place.
However, Arne Slot went away from the overloads on the left side to then switch the play to the right and try to get Salah with an advantage. At Anfield, he tried to involve the right-sided players a lot more from the start, which led to a more balanced output. Against Palace, 44.5% of their attacks came from the left side, 30.5% from the right and 25.0% from the middle.
It’s a tough transition to go from relying massively on Salah to then incorporating Florian Wirtz, who operates more in the left. This will take time, but the Dutch manager has shown that he’s willing to try out different things in order to get the desired outcome.
Liverpool scored four times, Salah got his and recorded nearly twice as many on-ball touches (48) than in the Community Shield (26), so this strategy might fare better long term.
Live by chaos, die by chaos
The Reds’ playing style has been absolutely fascinating for many years, probably since the Brendan Rodgers days. The energy, relentlessness and some time recklessness make for great entertainment every time they enter the pitch.
It’s even better when you consider that their essence actually hurts them sometimes, but they refuse to let go. Liverpool kept Bournemouth alive in the game by not pausing or slowing the rythm down in one single possession. A lot of times the defensive line didn’t keep up with the rest of the team’s pace and, in return, were always disorganized when they lost the ball.
In a way, Liverpool’s chaos led to them letting the Cherries back into the game. But without it, they also wouldn’t have gone back up 4-2 (or even 2-0 for that matter).
Bournemouth deserve credit
As much as this ends up being more about Liverpool scoring four goals and finding a way to win, it’s impossible not to talk about Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth.
The Cherries put up one hell of a fight to get themselves level at 2-2. It’s easy to let go of the rope in a two-goal deficit away from home, but Antoine Semenyo persevered and single-handedly fired them back into the game.
He was acting as a hub for long balls and basically their only way out of the defensive half right from the start, winning seemingly every single duel against Milos Kerkes. And it was him who got on the end of David Brooks’ cross to make it 2-1 and performed a stunning solo run to make it 2-2.
If there was fairness in football, Iraola’s men would’ve gotten better luck tonight. But despite eventually falling short and looking tired in the end, they seem set for another fun Premier League campaign – maybe finally getting into the European spots.
It was pretty much the best game we could’ve gotten for the first taste of Premier League football in nearly three months. Liverpool and Bournemouth are both a joy to watch and exceeded the already high expectations. We are back!