Liverpool player ratings as Hugo Ekitike stars against Bournemouth in Premier League opener

Liverpool have started their Premier League title defence with a victory, defeating Bournemouth 4-2 on an emotional evening at Anfield.

Many pundits and fans alike have predicted Arne Slot’s side to retain their crown come May, although they will need to up their performance if they are to do so. Liverpool raced into a two-goal lead courtesy of Hugo Ekitike and Cody Gakpo netting either side of half time, but Bournemouth winger Antoine Semenyo put them to the sword with a brilliant brace. Fortunately for the Merseyside club, they were bailed out by a late strike from substitute Federico Chiesa and a stoppage time sealer from Mohamed Salah.

Slot will not be happy with the display produced by his side, especially in defence – they were far too easy to get the better of on the counter-attack, and that was amplified by Semenyo’s goals.

Liverpool player ratings against Bournemouth

Alisson – Liverpool’s goalkeeper could do little about Semenyo’s brace, and he will not be happy about how he was not protected by his defenders. 6/10.

Jeremie Frimpong – His first match back in English football, and it was average. He is good going forward, but he was caught out of a natural right-back position on many occasions, and that spelled trouble. 5/10.

Ibrahima Konate – He played like a man that is thinking about life away from Liverpool. Not good enough in defence. 5/10.

Virgil van Dijk – At times it felt like van Dijk was a one-man defence, which he would not have been pleased about. 6/10.

Milos Kerkez – Similar to Frimpong, he was often caught out when Bournemouth broke quickly. 5/10.

Alexis Mac Allister – Provided the assist for Ekitike’s goal, but generally, he was not at his best. 6/10.

Dominik Szoboszlai – Played in a deeper role in order to accommodate Florian Wirtz, but he struggled to reach his potential too. 6/10.

Florian Wirtz – Rude awakening to English football for Wirtz, who was largely ineffective on his competitive debut at Anfield. 5/10.

Mohamed Salah – Another one that was not at their best. Salah did little to trouble the Bournemouth defence, which would have been very frustrating for him and his manager. He scored Liverpool’s fourth in stoppage time. 6/10.

Cody Gakpo – Gakpo’s place in the line-up would be under threat if Alexander Isak arrived, but if he continues to put in performances like this, it would be hard to drop him. Scored Liverpool’s second. 8/10

Hugo Ekitike – Fantastic performance from Ekitike, who was Liverpool’s standout performer with a goal and assist. Isak who? 9/10.

SUBS:

Andy Robertson – Brought on to make Liverpool more solid in defence, but Bournemouth scored twice in the minutes after he was substituted in by Slot. 5/10.

Wataru Endo – The decision to bring him on at right-back backfired, although he looked more comfortable in his natural midfield position when moved there. 5/10.

Joe Gomez – Solid performance from the returning Gomez. 6/10.

Curtis Jones – Helped Liverpool wrestle back control after Semenyo’s goals. 6/10.

Federico Chiesa – Liverpool’s hero. Scored late on to give them the lead, minutes are coming on. 7/10.

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