Liverpool began the defence of their Premier League crown with a 4-2 victory over Bournemouth at Anfield on Friday. The match which combined emotion, and drama, roused a late surge from the champions.
The evening opened with a tribute to the late forward Diogo Jota, before Arne Slot’s side produced a thrilling contest in his memory.
Mohamed Salah and substitute Federico Chiesa struck late on to secure the match after Antoine Semenyo’s brace had pulled Bournemouth level.
“Do you have half an hour?” Slot joked when asked to sum up the occasion. “Unbelievable atmosphere in the final minutes,” he said. “I thought that winning the league here (last season) will always be more special than winning a home game against Bournemouth, but the last six or seven minutes – wow, wow, wow, wow. How impressive that was.
“Three teams involved in a great game. Why three teams? Bournemouth and us playing full gas for 96 minutes, or even longer, 99 I think, and the referee (Anthony Taylor) who just kept the game going, didn’t blow his whistle every single time for every small thing. It was a great game to watch. In the end, we won it. So that helps my emotions.”
The Dutch coach added that the most poignant moment of the night came before kick-off. His “overriding emotion,” he said, was how “impressive and powerful the tribute for Jota was.”
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