Former Liverpool players, Jamie Carragher and Daniel Sturridge present for Sky Sports prior to the Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Crystal Palace FC at Anfield on May 25, 2025 in Liverpool, England.placeholder image
Former Liverpool players, Jamie Carragher and Daniel Sturridge present for Sky Sports prior to the Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Crystal Palace FC at Anfield on May 25, 2025 in Liverpool, England. | Liverpool FC via Getty Images
Liverpool beat Bournemouth 4-2 on a dramatic opening night in the Premier League at Anfield
Liverpool started their 2025-26 Premier League campaign with a dramatic 4-2 victory over Bournemouth at Anfield on Friday night.
The Reds went 1-0 up before half-time as new signing Hugo Ekitike opened the scoring with a precise finish. Early in the second half, Ekitike was involved again as he found Cody Gakpo who weaved across the face of the Cherries defence and hammered home.
The hosts looked comfortable but remained incredibly open at the back and soon found themselves pegged back to 2-2 as Antoine Semenyo finished off a sweeping Bournemouth move before breaking the length of the pitch and firing in his second of the night.
Federico Chiesa was the unlikely hero as he clinched the decisive goal on 88 minutes in front of the Kop. Mohamed Salah wrapped matters up in the fourth minute of stoppage time as he drilled the ball into the bottom corner to ease nerves.
Jamie Carragher disagrees with Premier League explanation for handball incident
The contest might have looked very different had Marcos Senesi been punished for a handball incident 13 minutes into the game. The Bournemouth defender failed to adequately deal with a high ball and stretched his arm out to stop the ball running through for Ekitike. The Frenchman had a clear run at goal but the ball did not fall to him.
Referee Anthony Taylor did not take any action, as a statement from the Premier League Match Centre said the handball was not deemed deliberate after a check by VAR. It said on X: “The referee’s call of no red card to Senesi was checked and confirmed by VAR – with the action deemed not to be a clear handball offence nor denial of a goal scoring opportunity (DOGSO), due to the distance from goal.”
The incident took place just past the half-way line which made it difficult for the officials to rule on whether it was a goal-scoring opportunity. However, the handball appeared to be deliberate.
"They got to that decision far too quickly. Whether it was too far away from the goal for it to be a red card, there's an argument for that. But they said it was basically a double hit. It was a blatant handball."
With Liverpool potentially dropping points after giving up their 2-0 lead, the incident threatened to overshadow the result but the win for the hosts means the decision was inconsequential.
Liverpool will need to be better to retain title
Reflecting on the result and the performance, ex-Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock said on BBC Radio 5 Live: “It was a superb game and Bournemouth more than played their part, They put Liverpool on the ropes for large parts of this game and showed their vulnerabilities. They are susceptible on the counter attack.
“When Federico Chiesa got that goal the Anfield crowd lifted the team, they had to, then Mohamed Salah wrapped it up.
“Not the most impressive performance tonight from Liverpool, good in patches, but they will have to be better to retain their title.”
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