Liverpool beat Bournemouth to get their Premier League title defence off to a flyer, though it was hardly a match without its vulnerabilities for the Anfield side as their defensive frailties were exposed against a spirited Cherries side.

Arne Slot cut a cool figure throughout his maiden year at the Liverpool helm, but he was left hot under the collar after Antoine Semenyo led a fightback from the visitors, who found themselves two goals down after the hour mark when Cody Gakpo coolly dispatched following Hugo Ekitike’s first-half goal, making it two in two for the £79m summer signing.

But while there was plenty of attacking intent on display, the Reds struggled to produce the kind of complete performance that the fanbase would have hoped for as they kicked off their title defence.

Liverpool’s performance vs Bournemouth

Mohamed Salah got his goal in the last embers, paying an emotional tribute to Diogo Jota as he did so. His goal followed the volleyed strike of Federico Chiesa, who restored the lead before stoppage time after Semenyo’s double exposed Liverpool’s defensive problems.

But the Merseysiders got the job done, cementing their title defence with three points. Virgil van Dijk improved after his error-strewn display at Wembley in the Community Shield, but Slot’s backline struggled to perform, with Ibrahima Konate in particular singled out as a weak link, looking rusty in central defence.

While the pursuit of Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak continues to rumble in the background, there will be plenty of attention on the other end of the field, with a £26m deal completed for 18-year-old Giovanni Leoni and a move still in the works for Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi.

But Liverpool have already welcomed some new quality to their ranks, with two new starters playing against Bournemouth.

One of the newbies showed shades of the recently sold Darwin Nunez, and it wasn’t the goalscoring Ekitike.

Liverpool’s new Darwin Nunez

Liverpool might have earned themselves a winning start to the Premier League campaign, but it was far from convincing against a slick Bournemouth side who implemented a high press to a good effect.

And Milos Kerkez certainly left plenty to be desired on his first league appearance in a Liverpool shirt. It was always going to be a match freighted with nerves for the 21-year-old, especially when pitted against his old Bournemouth teammates and Semenyo, who emerged the victor in that individual battle.

The young Hungarian lacked control and composure, lunging in with a series of challenges and being shown the flash of Antony Taylor’s yellow card before being replaced by the veteran Andy Robertson before the hour mark.

It was an erratic display which evoked memories of that man Nunez, who was sent off on his Anfield debut three years ago in a 1-1 draw with Fulham.

According to Sofascore, the 21-year-old won four of his ten attempted duels and made five clearances for Liverpool, also completing 93% of his passes, but he was also handed a 5/10 match rating by the Liverpool Echo’s Ian Doyle, who drew attention to Semenyo getting the better of his former teammate at the Vitality Stadium.

Though Nunez ultimately succumbed to his mercurial nature, unable to channel it and succeed under first Jurgen Klopp’s wing and the Slot’s, his high-level talent was never up for question on Merseyside.

And the same could be said of Kerkez, who last season was remarked to be “one of the most talented left-backs in world Football” by scout Jacek Kulig.

The rising star will hope to establish more of a stable level of success at Liverpool than Nunez, who joined Al Hilal this summer after three years with the Reds, but there’s no question that he will need to temper his aggression if he wishes to succeed Robertson and play a confident part in a backline that even at this early stage has shown that improvements are needed as Slot quests for a successful title defence.