Liverpool shrug off early setback and Mac Allister red to sink Bournemouth

Liverpool heartened and perplexed Anfield in equal measure. Jürgen Klopp’s side registered their first win of the new campaign with a vibrant comeback against Bournemouth, even after being reduced to ten men, but the recovery was only necessary due to a calamitous opening against Andoni Iraola’s visitors. Defensive concerns continue to accompany Liverpool’s prodigious attacking strengths.

Dominik Szoboszlai shone on his Anfield debut but fellow summer signing Alexis Mac Allister was sent off on his first home start for Liverpool and will miss next Sunday’s visit to Newcastle as a consequence. Goals from Luis Díaz, Mohamed Salah and Diogo Jota made the scoreline respectable for Klopp’s team but victory was a gruelling effort.

With a different manager, new players and fresh approach Bournemouth were unrecognisable from the team humiliated 9-0 in Scott Parker’s final game as manager here 12 months ago and fully deserving of an early lead. It helped that their relentless pressing met a woeful defensive response from Liverpool.

The hosts started with only two new faces, Mac Allister and the gifted Szoboszlai, but the rapport of complete strangers. Miscommunication littered Liverpool’s first steps of a new home season. Only 53 seconds had elapsed when Trent Alexander-Arnold turned Marcos Senesi’s searching pass out of defence towards Jaidon Anthony past the on-rushing Alisson. Anthony gratefully rolled the loose ball into an empty Kop goal but the visitors’ celebrations were curtailed by a close offside call against the goalscorer. Liverpool, and Alexander-Arnold in particular, failed to heed the warning.

Less than two minutes later the Liverpool right back was easily dispossessed by Philip Billing after receiving Virgil van Dijk’s pass in midfield. The destructive Billing released Dominic Solanke into the area and, though Andy Robertson was able to block the former Liverpool forward’s shot, Antoine Semenyo followed up to lash the loose ball beyond Alisson. Semenyo unsettled the Liverpool defence with his power and pace all afternoon. The Liverpool goalkeeper, meanwhile, produced another calamity when stumbling on a Van Dijk pass outside his penalty box and playing in Anthony. Alisson tripped the left winger as he advanced on goal and was only spared a possible ninth-minute red card because of Ibrahima Konaté covering behind.

Van Dijk, Liverpool’s new captain, almost brought his team level despite themselves when heading a Robertson corner against the bar. Klopp’s side rarely tested Bournemouth goalkeeper, Neto, in the opening 27 minutes, however, and escaped again when Solanke went down in the area under pressure from Robertson and Van Dijk. Neither referee Thomas Bramall nor VAR Paul Tierney were moved by Bournemouth’s appeals for a penalty.

In the 26th minute Anfield rose to applaud Michael Jones, the 26-year-old construction worker who died in an accident at Everton’s new stadium development at Bramley Moore dock on Monday. Klopp and the Liverpool first-team squad had visited a memorial to the young Evertonian on their pre-match walk along the dock road. The Liverpool manager left a wreath of flowers with a card that read: “Condolences from everyone at Liverpool Football Club. YNWA” before the group held a minute’s silence. A touch of class.

Thomas Bramall shows a red card to Liverpool’s Alexis Mac Allister. Photograph: David Klein/Reuters

The applause for Jones was still reverberating around the stadium when Liverpool levelled. The game, and the level of the home team’s performance, changed irrevocably from that point on. Alexander-Arnold compensated for his defensive lapses, as he does so often, with a part in all three Liverpool goals. He picked out Jota with a fine ball from the right wing. The forward swept into the Bournemouth area and squared for Díaz, via a slight touch off Senesi. The Colombia international teed himself up for an acrobatic finish into the bottom corner.

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Szoboszlai won a penalty shortly afterwards when twisting inside Joe Rothwell on the corner of the area. The Hungary captain made the most of the contact from Rothwell’s trailing leg but it was a clear foul. Neto saved brilliantly from Mohamed Salah’s spot-kick but was furious to see Bournemouth’s players stand and admire his efforts while Salah followed up to convert the rebound unchallenged.

Liverpool were rampant at the start of the second half but suffered a severe setback when Mac Allister was shown a straight red card for a foul on Ryan Christie. The dismissal of the home debutant looked harsh, although the World Cup winner was late and high with a challenge that caught Christie on the shin and resulted in the Bournemouth midfielder’s own early exit. The ten men made light of the dismissal. Moments later Szoboszlai collected Alexander-Arnold’s touch and drilled in a low shot that Neto could only parry into the path of Jota. The Portugal international made no mistake and though Bournemouth pressed late on, with Alisson saving smartly from substitutes Justin Kluivert and Hamed Traoré, Liverpool held on.