Paul Gorst match verdict after Liverpool win a thrilling contest with Bournemouth 4-2 on the opening night of the Premier League season at Anfield
Paul Gorst is the Liverpool ECHO's Liverpool FC correspondent and brings readers the inside track on all matters Anfield day in, day out. Now into his fifth season in the role, Paul follows the Reds home and away, wherever they play - including pre season. He brings you all the latest Liverpool news first each day, plus exclusive interviews and insightful, independent analysis. A journalist with over a decade's worth of experience, he has worked at the ECHO since 2016.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - AUGUST 15: Arne Slot manager / head coach of Liverpool hugs Federico Chiesa of Liverpool at full time during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Bournemouth at Anfield on August 15, 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)
Arne Slot hugs Federico Chiesa as fellow Liverpool hero Hugo Ekitike applauds the supporters following the dramatic win over Bournemouth
(Image: Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)
On the day when one Italian literally arrived as a Liverpool player, it was fitting that another did symbolically. As 18-year-old Giovanni Leoni, signed from Parma for £26m, watched on from the stands as his new team-mates toiled, it was apt that a doyen of Italian football, Federico Chiesa, struck the decisive goal in what must be one of the most uninhibited opening fixtures in recent Premier League memory.
Strap yourself in because the champions are back. And on this evidence it promises to be quite the ride.
It was a night when The Kop serenaded its heroes; some old, some new and one in particular who, heartbreakingly, is no longer with us.
From Hugo Ekitike and Chiesa through to Mohamed Salah, the Liverpool supporters ensured all their match-winners soaked up the acclaim. But the final din of the night was reserved solely for Diogo Jota, on an evening that veered wildly across the emotional spectrum.
After the sort of opening period that laid bare how both sets of players are still essentially on pre-season time, the game came to life when Ekitike hustled his way past Marcos Senesi's challenge before keeping his cool to convert past Dorde Petrovic. It was another glimpse of what the France Under-21 international is all about after his impressive goal in last weekend's Community Shield.
The £79m man drew gasps of admiration from the Kop early in the second half with a sumptuous flick to Florian Wirtz after holding off his man and the new forward looks every inch a star.
Liverpool feel they have a player who can eventually develop into one of the world's best frontmen and there were flashes at times that showed why such a bold prediction carries weight. And judging by the new terrace anthem in his name - set to Black Lace's Do the Conga - the Kop has a brand new hero.
The hosts extended their lead early in the second half when Cody Gakpo stroked home what has become something of a trademark strike for him after cutting inside the area.
Having seen competition for his spot all but disappear with the sale of Luis Diaz to Bayern Munich, the Netherlands star is now poised to shoulder more responsibility than ever in this ever-evolving forward line.
But if Liverpool's pre-season problem of looking too open in transition has been glaring, it is one that has yet to be rectified by Slot and his coaching staff.
Both of Bournemouth's goals here came from turnovers and razor-sharp counters. The loss of the metronomic Ryan Gravenberch was sorely felt in the second half as the midfield protection proved wafer thin for a backline still adapting to a new full-back pairing, neither of whom were on the pitch for the Cherries' efforts.
Two expertly-executed breaks from Andoni Iraola's team saw the impressive Antoine Semenyo profit to eventually restore parity and it looked as though the defence of the title was going to start on a bum note.
That was until Chiesa recorded his most significant contribution as a Liverpool player to date to set up the sort of scenes usually reserved for title-clinching winners in May.
His younger compatriot, Leoni, watching on from the stands, can't fail to have been impressed by how the Anfield patrons reacted to the goal that took it to 3-2 with two minutes of normal time remaining.
It was left to Salah to wrap it up late on and provide a sheen of comfort for the closing moments. Another opening weekend, another Salah goal contribution. You can see your watch by the Egypt superstar.
But despite seeing Anfield rocking to its foundations in the closing minutes, only the foolish would deny that there is still work to be done both on the training pitches and in the transfer window.
It’s going to be fascinating to see how the squad is shaped over the course of the next fortnight or so after Ben Doak became the latest player to prepare for pastures new after talks opened with Bournemouth over a £25m deal.
With Alexander Isak to be pursued if given encouragement from Newcastle, there are still several plates being spun by sporting director Richard Hughes.
What happens next in the turbulent, tedious Isak saga remains anyone's guess but Slot won't want to navigate too many more fixtures with the number of options available just now.
Something will have to give this month, even if the theory that further talks between the clubs will take place after the St James' Park fixture between them later this month is a sound one.
But of course it would be impossible not to devote coverage to an evening like this without a nod to Jota and his brother, Andre Silva, after their unimaginably tragic death in northern Spain last month.
Jota's wife, Rute, was in attendance at Anfield as an entire club and its worldwide fanbase continue to mourn the sudden and shock passing of a much-loved colleague and player and there were several flourishes undertaken in his name.
From the perfectly observed pre-match silence through to the beautiful Kop mosaic and terrace-anthem-turned-poignant-requiem for the popular No.20, set to Creedence Clearwater Revival's Bad Moon Rising, the message was clear to grieving widow Rute and their three children: You'll Never Walk Alone. Not at this club.
Quite how this grief manifests in a sporting sense along the way this season is a debate for another time. This was a night when it was made clear just how much Jota meant to those on Merseyside and the people with whom he worked at the club.
The hard-working, unassuming and 'most British non-Brit ever' - to paraphrase Andy Robertson - should now be bestowed with a much loftier title of 'honorary Scouser'. There can be no more fitting tribute around these parts. Forever their No.20.