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Liverpool victory soured by Anfield incident

Liverpool's Frederico Chiesa and Mohamed Salah sealed the win against a frisky Bournemouth in the dying minutes in the Premier League opener at Anfield.

Chiesa nabbed the lead for the home side with a couple of minutes left on the clock, before Salah sealed the victory during injury-time to give Liverpool a 4-2 win to start the season.

The Reds took a 2-0 lead courtesy of goals through Hugo Ekitike in the 37th minute and Cody Gakpo in the 49th but the Bournemouth star Antoine Semenyo, who was subjected to racism by a fan in the first half, silenced the home crowd in the second frame to score two goals and level the scores at 2-2 with less than 15 minutes left on the clock.

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Referee Anthony Taylor stopped play in the 29th-minute at a Liverpool corner before talking to both managers on the sideline over the incident.

Captains Virgil van Dijk and Adam Smith were then called over to the sideline to be briefed before the match resumed four minutes later.

An anti-discrimination message was read out to the crowd inside Anfield once the half-time whistle had blown.

"Tonight's match between Liverpool Football Club and AFC Bournemouth was temporarily paused during the first half after a report of discriminatory abuse from the crowd, directed at Bournemouth's Antoine Semenyo," the Premier League Match Centre said on X.

"This is in line with the Premier League's on-field anti-discrimination protocol. The incident at Anfield will now be fully investigated. We offer our full support to the player and both clubs.

"Racism has no place in our game, or anywhere in society. We will continue to work with stakeholders and authorities to ensure our stadiums are an inclusive and welcoming environment for all."

More to come.

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