Hugo Ekitike brilliant, Ibrahima Konate miserable – Liverpool ratings v Bournemouth
Hugo Ekitike put in a stunning performance as Liverpool stole a late brace to beat Bournemouth 4-2 in the Premier League’s 2025/26 curtain raiser.
The Reds began their title defence in style, cruising to a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from the Frenchman and Cody Gakpo.
However, as Liverpool so often do, they gave up two goals in the space of ten minutes as Antoine Semenyo ran riot.
Arne Slot’s puzzling substitutions, including removing Ekitike, seemed to disrupt his sides balance completely, until one of those replacements from the bench popped up with a crucial goal.
Having signed in the summer of 2023, Federico Chiesa finally scored his first Premier League goal in the 87th minute to give his side a crucial win, before Mohamed Salah capped off the win with a delightful strike of his own.
Liverpool start Premier League campaign with bumpy win
Alisson – 5
Good distribution but was not positioned well enough to deal with David Brooks’ cross that picked out Semenyo for Bournemouth’s second.
Jeremie Frimpong (off for Wataru Endo 60′) – 7
Bright start. Jeremie Frimpong’s Premier League debut lasted for an hour and whilst he failed to contribute a goal or an assist, as he had done in the Community Shield, the Dutchman’s work rate was a sight to behold, especially when compared to his rather lackadaisical predecessor.
Ibrahima Konate – 3
Off the boil. Misplaced passes, skewed clearances and caught out of position for the opener all added up to a rough start to the 2025/26 campaign for Ibrahima Konate.
Virgil van Dijk martials backline superbly
Virgil van Dijk – 8
Lead from the back. Liverpool’s captain was as on fire as a centre-back can ever be. Dominant in the air, an impassable wall at the back, only let down by his struggling defensive partner.
Milos Kerkez (off for Robertson 60′) – 4
Tough start. Whilst his counterpart on the right enjoyed a fine start, Kerkez struggled to find his feet against his former side. Picked up a booking and struggled with his delivery, it can only get better from here.
Dominik Szoboszlai – 5
Showed flashes with a long-range strike that went close and some tidy passing, but Dominik Szoboszlai struggled to have a meaningful impact on the game from a deeper midfield position.
Alexis Mac Allister (off for Jones 72′) – 7
Smart assist for Ekitike’s opener and helped fill the void left by Ryan Gravenberch’s red card at the end of last year by offering more defensive support.
Mohamed Salah – 6
Quiet for much of the game, but the Egyptians delightful whipped cross led to Chiesa’s equaliser, before he opened his account this season with a wonderful strike of his own.
Florian Wirtz shows touch of class
Florian Wirtz (off for Chiesa 82′) – 8
Florian Wirtz joined from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer, some may have had their doubts about the fee spent to bring the German midfielder to Merseyside. Those doubts were answered as he ran the show against the Cherries.
Cody Gakpo – 8
Breakout season inbound. Gakpo has been a consistent contributor since moving the Anfield in 2022, but with Luis Diaz gone, the Dutchman looks set for a big season. Exceptionally composed finish for the Reds’ second of the night.
Hugo Ekitike (off for Gomez 72′) – 9 – Player of the Match
Hugo Ekitike rejected Newcastle to join Liverpool and the Frenchman has made a flying start to life as the Reds’ main man up top. Followed up his debut goal in the Community Shield with a debut Premier League strike and an assist for Gakpo. Liverpool may think twice before spending £150million on Alexander Isak after the 22-year-old’s performance.
Substitutes
Wataru Endo (on for Frimpong 60′) – 4
Caught out high up the pitch for Semenyo’s second and lacked the pace to recover, Conor Bradley’s return cannot come soon enough.
Andy Robertson (on for Kerkez 60′) – 5
Usurped as Liverpool’s starting left-back this year by Kerkez, did little to prove he was deserving of his position back.
Curtis Jones (on for Mac Allister 72′) – 6
Busied himself in the middle of the park but lacked a cutting edge with his distribution.
Joe Gomez (on for Ekitike 72′) – 5
Through no fault of his own, Gomez’s introduction completely ruined Liverpool’s balance as the Reds lost control of the game.
Federico Chiesa (on for Wirtz 82′) – 8
Jamie Carragher called the Italian’s introduction a “strange substitution”, the Italian made the former defender eat his words by scoring a beautiful winner in the 87th minute.