Liverpool managed to overcome a spirited Bournemouth team to kick their Premier League campaign off with a win on Friday.

The Reds struggled during the opening portion of the game, but goals either side of half time from Hugo Ekitike and Cody Gakpo appeared to have seen off the Cherries.

Bournemouth came back, though, with Antoine Semenyo showing immense courage following an alleged incident of racial abuse from within the Liverpool crowd to score twice.

Although both goals owed much to the brilliance of Bournemouth and of Semenyo in particular, there were plenty to blame wearing Liverpool red.

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Perhaps the most culpable was centre-back Ibrahima Konate, who looked all at sea far too many times during the match.

Liverpool fans were disappointed with Konate’s performance and the struggles of the Frenchman may possibly speed up a deal being struck for Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi.

Photo by Sebastian Frej/Getty Images

Liverpool have been searching for a new centre-back all summer long and were boosted in that respect just hours before kick-off on Friday, with Giovanni Leoni signing in from Parma.

But while Leoni looks like a real prospect, it is important to note that he is only 18.

He will not be considered a starter for quite some time.

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As a result, Arne Slot is still largely relying on Konate and Virgil van Dijk.

Joe Gomez came on on Friday and that was encouraging, but the 28-year-old’s fitness is a major worry.

Konate will be better than he was against Bournemouth, but it is imperative that Slot has another option of similar quality to challenge the 26-year-old when he does turn in this kind of display.

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Guehi is a top candidate in that respect and is seemingly gettable at the right price over the next two weeks.

It is understandable that Liverpool do not want to overpay on a player they can get for free in a year’s time.

However, Konate’s display against the Cherries was a reminder of why it may just be worth it.

Konate was not the only problem facing Liverpool on Friday.

The full-backs were pushing way too high when two goals up and this caused all sorts of issues.

Dominik Szoboszlai was, as ever, loose in possession in crucial areas as well, which put Liverpool in a hole more than once.

Nevertheless, it was clear that something was not right with Liverpool’s No.

But though he was struggling to get a grip on the game, Slot had no one else to turn to.

Leoni’s presence will help, but he cannot be put under too much pressure at this early stage of his development.

Instead, Liverpool’s performance on Friday should have been all the evidence Slot and Richard Hughes needed that Guehi must get done5