On Friday, August 15, the new 2025/26 English Premier League season kicked off with a match between Liverpool and Bournemouth. The match delighted fans with six goals, one of which was scored by the new "Merseysiders" player Hugo Ekitike, and was also marked by a racist scandal, according to UNN.
Details
The first round match of the APL started at Anfield at 10:00 PM. Newcomers to the team debuted for Liverpool: Jeremie Frimpong, Florian Wirtz, and Hugo Ekitike, who opened the scoring in the match: in the 37th minute, Alexis Mac Allister passed to Ekitike, who quickly burst into the penalty area and shot past the goalkeeper - 1:0.
"Liverpool" signed forward Ekitike24.07.25, 08:18 • 2734 views
At the start of the second half, Ekitike assisted Cody Gakpo: the Frenchman on the edge of the penalty area passed to Gakpo, who moved to the center and accurately shot into the far corner - 2:0.
In the 64th minute, Bournemouth managed to reduce the deficit: Antoine Semenyo, after a through pass from David Brooks, scored one goal for his team - 2:1.
Just 10 minutes later, Semenyo scored a brace: the forward carried the ball almost from the center of the field and made an accurate shot into the bottom corner of Alisson's goal - 2:2.
However, just 12 minutes later, Liverpool took the lead again: Federico Chiesa hammered the ball into Bournemouth's goal after the "Cherries" failed to clear it from their own penalty area - 3:2.
In the 4th minute of added time in the second half, Mohamed Salah put an end to the match, scoring the 4th goal for Liverpool: Wataru Endo successfully cleared the ball forward, which Salah picked up, the Egyptian burst into the penalty area and accurately shot into the far corner - 4:2 in favor of Liverpool.
In addition to the goals scored, the match was remembered for the first racist scandal of the current season, which led referee Anthony Taylor to even stop the game in the 29th minute.
As Bournemouth forward Semenyo was preparing to throw the ball in from the sideline, a Liverpool fan in a wheelchair began to insult him from the stands. Semenyo himself informed the referee that the fan had called him a "nigger," which, according to the APL regulations, entails suspending the match.
"Today's match between Liverpool Football Club and Bournemouth was temporarily suspended in the first half following a report of discriminatory abuse from spectators directed at Bournemouth player Antoine Semenyo. This is in line with the Premier League's anti-discrimination protocol on the field. The incident at Anfield will now be thoroughly 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 an inclusive and welcoming environment for everyone in our stadiums," the APL press service stated.
After the game, Liverpool fans and players honored the memory of Diogo Jota, who died with his brother in a car accident.
Liverpool star Diogo Jota dies in car crash in Spain03.07.25, 11:29 • 1473 views