Emotional, electrifying start to Premier League season as Liverpool wins 6-goal bonanza after honoring Diogo Jota at Anfield
- - Emotional, electrifying start to Premier League season as Liverpool wins 6-goal bonanza after honoring Diogo Jota at Anfield
David Close, CNNAugust 16, 2025 at 12:06 AM
Players, match officials and fans honored Diogo Jota ahead of the Premier League season opener. - Michael Steele/Getty Images
The highly anticipated new Premier League season kicked off at Anfield on Friday, with some supporters still wiping away tears from their eyes on a bright, sunny day. Those same supporters likely wiped very different tears away once the final whistle sounded following a six-goal affair that saw the home club walk away with a 4-2 victory.
The emotions were on full display ahead of the opener between Liverpool and Bournemouth as fans paid tribute to late Reds star Diogo Jota, who tragically passed away along with his brother André Silva in a car crash earlier this summer.
Banners, signs, balloons and scarves emblazoned with Jota’s name, face, and No. 20 kit number were raised above heads by those in attendance when the collective sang out Liverpool’s beloved anthem, “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”
Broadcast of the match showed some fans teary-eyed while singing the traditional song. The club’s star player, Mohamed Salah, looked upward while the anthem rang out through the ground.
A memorial filled with flowers sits outside Anfield. - Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty Images
The public address announcer called for a period of silence in memory of “our forever 20” and his brother, who died on July 3. Liverpool players stood side-by-side with their arms draped over one another’s shoulders as fans displayed a collective mosaic sign in the stands that spelled out “DJ 20” and “AS 30,” shown in green, red and white colors – the colorway of the brothers’ native Portugal flag.
A black-and-white picture of the brothers was shown on video boards as some players bowed their heads during the moment.
The match got underway with the crowd full of enthusiasm. In the 20th minute, in reflection of Jota’s number, fans around the ground stood, clapped in unison and chanted in honor of their much-loved forward.
Players and coaches on both clubs were wearing black armbands.
Liverpool fans also honored Jota at the annual Community Shield match last weekend.
Title defenders begin quest to repeat
As for the match itself, the reigning Premier League champions looked the part in a thrilling win featuring their dramatically changed roster.
Liverpool are favored to repeat as title-winners after bolstering the squad with multiple high-profile signings, including a trio from the Bundesliga: Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong from Bayern Leverkusen and Hugo Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt. New defender Milos Kerkez started as well and faced his former side on Friday.
Bournemouth's Antoine Semenyo breaks away from the Liverpool defence in the season opener. - Michael Steele/Getty Images
Ekitike will forever remember this day after he scored on his Anfield debut. In the 37th minute, the new striker powered through the Bournemouth backline to slot home, giving the home side a 1-0 lead. The Frenchman held his fingers to form the No. 20 – Jota’s former number.
The match went to half with that score – a bad sign for the opponents. According to the Premier League, going into Friday, Liverpool had yet to lose any of the club’s last 155 league matches at home when the Reds have led at the break (W141 D14).
Ekitike was involved in Liverpool’s second tally too. The Reds doubled the lead in the 49th minute when the forward softly laid off the ball to Cody Gakpo, who dribbled across the area to set himself up for a shot that found the back of Djordje Petrovic’s goal.
Bournemouth struck back through star forward Antoine Semenyo. In the 64th minute, the Cherries caught the Reds on the break with David Brooks centering to Semenyo, who one-timed the ball past Alisson Becker.
Semenyo struck again just over 10 minutes later with a wonderful individual effort to level the match at two.
In the 76th minute, Semenyo was played through on another fast break, quickly driving at Liverpool’s goal with speed. He struck his second tally of the match into the bottom corner, sending the Liverpool faithful into a quiet hush as the lead was now gone.
But Liverpool had a look about them after the equalizer on a day they were celebrating the life of their former teammate.
As the clock approached the 90th minute, up stepped Reds substitute Federico Chiesa – for a moment that he too will likely never forget.
Salah’s teasing cross into the area wasn’t adequately dealt with by Petrovic or the Cherries’ defense, with Chiesa stepping up to drive home the go-ahead goal as Anfield erupted.
In the 94th minute, Salah put the proverbial cherry on top with a goal of his own, which capped the six-goal thriller. The Egyptian took on four Bournemouth defenders and niftily avoided a tackle to score the final goal of the night. He looked to have tears in his eyes as he acknowledged the crowd after the game.
Liverpool's Federico Chiesa celebrates after scoring the winning goal over Bournemouth. - Ian Hodgson/AP
“It’s amazing to play here, as you can see when we won the crowd – was unbelievable. I enjoyed every minute playing on that pitch, so I just want to stay focused and do more for the team,” Ekitike said after the match, according to PremierLeague.com
“The tribute to Diogo Jota was amazing and it makes it hard to explain my feelings right now,” he is quoted as saying.
The Arne Slot-led club won the title in his first season in charge last year and will be looking to guide the Reds to their first repeat crown in over forty years.
Racism allegation marred match
In the 26th minute, broadcast video showed a fan engaging with Semenyo while the forward went to retrieve a ball for an impending throw-in. The fan can be seen shouting and pointing at Semenyo just before the Ghanaian restarted play.
A short time later, play was temporarily suspended as both sides’ managers and some players gathered with the match referee, Anthony Taylor, in the technical area to apparently discuss the moment between the fan and the player.
The Sky Sports broadcast, citing the Premier League Match Centre, said Semenyo had been subject to a racist comment from the crowd.
The official X account for the Match Centre posted a statement that said the league would investigate the incident.
“We offer our full support to the player and both clubs. Racism has no place in our game, or anywhere in society,” the statement read in part.
The English FA also released a statement following the incident, stating the organization was “concerned” about the alleged “discrimination from an area of the crowd” and pledged to work with authorities, both clubs and match officials to “establish the facts and ensure the appropriate action is taken.”
A Liverpool statement said the club was aware of the alleged incident and will support the “ongoing police investigation.”
This story has been with additional information.
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