Defending champion Liverpool launched the Premier League with a dramatic 4-2 win over Bournemouth at Anfield on Friday in an emotionally charged match featuring tributes to Diogo Jota and a player reporting racial abuse.
Strikes after the 88th minute by Federico Chiesa and Mohamed Salah sealed victory for Liverpool after the hosts squandered a two-goal lead.
Hugo Ekitike and Cody Gakpo put the Reds 2-0 up.
In between those goals, the game was briefly paused after Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo reported to referee Anthony Taylor in the 28th minute that he was targeted with racist language by a member of the crowd.
Semenyo, who is Black, needed to be consoled by teammates after the alleged incident but played on and scored in the 64th and 76th minutes to draw Bournemouth level.
It was the first competitive match at Anfield since Jota — a popular player for Liverpool — and his brother Andre Silva were killed in a car crash in Spain on July 3.
Ahead of kickoff, fans held up placards to spell out “DJ20” and “AS30” in two of the stands during a period of silence in honor of the Portuguese players.
Players from the Liverpool team stood arm-in-arm around the center circle, and staff and players from both clubs wore black armbands.
Salah appeared to be tearful after fulltime as Jota continued to be commemorated by Liverpool's fans.
___
Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
