Hugo Ekitike (£8.5m) and Antoine Semenyo (£7.0m) hauls, a late Mohamed Salah (£14.5m) goal, early substitutions for Jeremie Frimpong (£6.0m) and Milos Kerkez (£6.0m) and a significant amount of defensive contribution (DC) points: there was much to analyse from Liverpool’s opening day win over Bournemouth.
We discuss the key Fantasy Premier League (FPL) talking points from Anfield below.
SLOT ON WHY FRIMPONG + KERKEZ WERE SUBBED
Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez made their Premier League debuts for Liverpool on Friday.
However, with the hosts leading 2-0, both full-backs were withdrawn just before the hour mark.
Frimpong was surprisingly replaced by Wataru Endo (£5.0m). Arne Slot later revealed Frimpong had “felt his hamstring at half-time”, with no risks taken.
“That wasn’t out of luxury. That was because Jeremie Frimpong felt his hamstring at half-time and made a lot of sprints. He was doing quite well, but the other right-back Conor Bradley is already out with an injury, so we don’t want to take the risk of losing another full-back.” – Arne Slot
Kerkez, meanwhile, was caught out several times down Liverpool’s left flank and had already been booked, so it was no surprise he was substituted for Andrew Robertson (£6.0m).
“Our left-back, Milos Kerkez, is a player that I think the fans like – because every duel he goes all in! But when you have a yellow card already and you play Semenyo, that’s quite a worry.” – Arne Slot
Even before the subs, Liverpool looked vulnerable at the back, as was the case at Wembley last week.
Given how susceptible they were on the counter-attack, you’d expect one of Dominik Szoboszlai (£6.5m) or Alexis Mac Allister (£6.5m) to drop out for Ryan Gravenberch (£5.5m) next week.
As for Virgil van Dijk (£6.0m), he might not be at his top level right now, but this was a better showing than at Wembley. He had a couple of headed attempts and racked up 21 defensive contributions, including 17 (!) clearances.
EKITIKE SUPERB
After finding the net in last week’s Community Shield, Ekitike scored again on Friday, his first home goal for the club.
In an excellent all-round display, he later claimed the assist for Cody Gakpo’s (£7.5m) strike to total 11 points.
He could have added more goals to his tally, too, having racked up four shots, including two big chances, in 71 minutes of football.
This heat map shows Ekitike’s movement against Bournemouth:
Often dropping deep to link play, before running in behind, Ekitike discussed his role – and specifically what Slot has asked him to do – after the match.
“Yeah, I think it’s natural. I also changed my way to play here because I think it’s also different football, with more intensity. The defenders are stronger and we have tight space here. I had so much more space in Germany. That’s why I try to come, link and go, try to run behind. But we have to find the way to succeed with the details, because it’s not [enough to be] ‘good’ anymore and we just have to get better.” – Hugo Ekitike
On his decision to withdraw Ekitike on 71 minutes, Slot said:
“He came later in pre-season, he has to adapt – as I think I can say Liverpool is a bigger club than Frankfurt. The league is probably more intense as well, so for him to be able to play 70 minutes is already a big bonus after being two or three weeks here. So that’s where we are at the moment, because we lost some players.” – Arne Slot
Elsewhere, Florian Wirtz (£8.5m) had a quieter night but did show glimpses of what he is capable of, as he nearly scored in front of the Kop and created three chances.
LATE SALAH GOAL
Salah left it late, but to the relief of many, sealed the victory in injury time.
Captained by 3.6m FPL managers, the Egyptian had previously tested Djordje Petrovic (£4.5m) with a fine shot from just inside the penalty box, which the Bournemouth goalkeeper tipped over.
It continues Salah’s fine Gameweek 1 record. Remarkably, he’s still never blanked.
Prior to Salah’s strike, substitute Federico Chiesa (£6.5m) had restored Liverpool’s lead.
SEMENYO IMPRESSES
As for Bournemouth, they were tricky opponents for Liverpool, as they offered a constant threat on the counter-attack.
Despite having their talent raided over the summer, Semenyo hit a shot over the crossbar in the first half, but quickly made amends with a superb second-half brace.
Andoni Iraola handed first starts to Petrovic, Bafode Diakite (£4.5m) and Adrien Truffert (£4.5m) at Anfield.
The trio produced promising displays, particularly centre-back Diakite, who only arrived from Lille on Wednesday.
A quick word on Marcus Tavernier (£5.5m), too. He was deployed in a box-to-box role and racked up 20 defensive contributions as a result.
Elsewhere, budget options James Hill (£4.0m) and Eli Junior Kroupi (£4.5m) were both benched, but were introduced as substitutes late on.
Now that the trip to Liverpool is out of the way, the Cherries are about to embark on a very decent run:
