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Federico Chiesa came off of the bench to score the winner for Liverpool (Image: Getty)

Liverpool duo Federico Chiesa and Mohamed Salah came to the rescue of their side as the Reds kickstarted their Premier League title defence with a 4-2 win over AFC Bournemouth on Friday night.



After watching his teammates throw away a two goal lead, Chiesa came off of the bench to restore Liverpool’s advantage in the 89th minute with a sweet volley to send Anfield into a frenzy.

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Salah then put the game to bed in the dying embers of the clash to ensure that Antoine Semenyo’s impressive brace in the second half were all but forgotten on Merseyside.

Hugo Ekitike had opened for Liverpool with a composed finish in the first half before teeing up Cody Gakpo to double Liverpool’s lead after the half-time break.

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Alisson - 6

Couldn’t do much about Semenyo’s opener and was left flat-footed for his second.

Caught out by David Brooks’ pace for the Bournemouth goal and bizarrely refused to engage with Semenyo as he beared down on goal for the second.

Mohamed Salah put the game to bed late on (Image: Getty)

Milos Kerkez – 4 (Robertson, 60’)

Something of an immature debut by the defender, who looked fixated on proving his worth against his former club.

Showed grit defensively and almost bagged a goal with a fierce strike in the second half.

Dominic Szoboszlai - 6

Worked hard but made some key mistakes late on, giving the ball away for the Bournemouth opener and making the wrong decision when offered space in the final third.

Florian Wirtz – 6 (Chiesa, 82)

A few neat touches and passes but a performance of someone settling into life in the Premier League.

If the ex-Eintracht Frankfurt star can build on this display, he will be a defenders nightmare this season.

Cody Gakpo – 8

Showed great composure to weave past a number of players and slot home for his goal, and his desire to cut inside and influence play centrally did cause Bournemouth problems.

Antoine Semenyo bagged a brace for the Cherries (Image: Getty)

Substitutes

Federico Chiesa – 8

He’d only touched the ball once prior to slamming his volley beyond Petrovic, but that was all he needed to assert his cult hero status among the Liverpool faithful.

Joe Gomez – 6

A steadier option in right-back to teammate Endo.

Curtis Jones – 7

Made some great runs in behind the Bournemouth backline late on and pushed his side forward with his neat buildup.

Wataru Endo – 5

Looked uncomfortable in right-back in a change which turned the tide on the clash.

Andrew Robertson – 5

Caught sleeping for Semenyo’s opener and was no where to be seen when Bournemouth broke for their second.