English Premier League champions Liverpool kicked off their season with a thrilling 4-2 win over visiting Bournemouth on Friday night, with new signing Ugo Ekitike scoring on his debut, and late goals from Federico Chiesa and Mohamed Salah sealing the win for the Reds.
The match was held in a particularly emotional atmosphere, as the club commemorated the death of its late striker Diogo Jota, who died in a car accident alongside his brother Andre Silva last July. Before the match began, the players and fans observed a minute of silence, while tears streamed down the faces of the fans as they sang the famous anthem "You'll Never Walk Alone."
Match Details
Ekitike, who joined from Eintracht Frankfurt this summer, opened the scoring for Liverpool in the 37th minute, before Cody Gakpo doubled the lead in the 49th minute.
But Bournemouth came back into the game thanks to striker Antoine Semenyo, who reduced the deficit in the 64th minute and then equalized 12 minutes later, scoring a brace. Despite being subjected to racist abuse in the first half, the match was halted for several minutes.
In the 88th minute, substitute Chiesa restored Liverpool's lead, following up on a rebound after Salah's shot was parried by goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic. Salah then scored the fourth goal himself in stoppage time, breaking through the defence and firing into the bottom corner. This brought his tally to 187 Premier League goals, putting him joint fourth on the all-time list of top scorers in the competition with Andy Cole.
Following his goal, Salah celebrated in the style of the late Jota, then turned to the fans after the final whistle, wiping away his tears as they chanted his late teammate's name.
0 Comments