Liverpool secured their first win of the Premier League season as they defeated AFC Bournemouth 3-1 at Anfield on Saturday afternoon. The home side got off to the worst possible start after an error from Trent Alexander-Arnold allowed the Cherries to capitalise, with Antoine Semenyo driving the ball past Alisson to open the scoring.
Virgil van Dijk came close to equalising moments later, with his header smashing back off the woodwork, while the Reds continued to garner momentum in the chase to restore parity. Bournemouth managed to hold on until the 27th minute when Luis Díaz reacted first to a deflected cutback from Diogo Jota, finishing acrobatically past Neto.
Careless defending from Bournemouth’s Joe Rothwell then led to him conceding a penalty, and while Neto was able to stop the initial strike from Mohamed Salah, the Egypt international reacted quickly to put away the rebound.
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A red card for Alexis Mac Allister in the second half provided hope for the visitors, but they soon found themselves 3-1 down after Neto couldn’t hold onto a long-range strike from Dominik Szoboszlai, allowing Jota to tap into an empty net.
Kieffer Moore had the best chance in the remainder of the game with an effort that he should have got on target, before Alisson was called into action to save from Justin Kluivert. Liverpool then opted to see out the remainder of the game, with Kostas Tsimikas introduced for Salah.
Positives
A bright display from Liverpool’s attack showed further signs of improvement, with the performances of Szoboszlai and Díaz impressive. The link-up play between Salah and Diaz was also a standout factor.
Negatives
Liverpool started the game poorly with too many needless mistakes that conceded possession, and could have been punished by stronger opposition. The Reds are also set to be without Mac Allister for three games after he was unlucky to be sent off just before the hour mark.
Manager rating (1-10; 10 = best)
Jurgen Klopp, 7 — He went with his strongest possible side in a game where a victory was expected, and trusted in his tactics that eventually saw the Reds take control of the game after going 1-0 down. He also responded well when his side lost Mac Allister in the second half, introducing debutant Wataru Endo swiftly.
