At the end, Anfield bounced with joy. A game that was apparently thrown away was saved by saving two minutes by the balance, agility and timing of replacement Federico Chiesa.
On a night of very charities, the Italians was much smarter and harder to do than it seemed for the first time. Then there was a little more usual, a target day in extra time of Mo Salah. This was his tenth goal in his years in Liverpool.
It all gave Arne Slot's defending champion a victory on one night that they wanted to win so badly for their fallen Soulmate Diogo Jota. From that point of view, it was a fantastic and suitable ending in the presence of Jota's widow.
Furthermore, this was very much an imperfect night.
Liverpool not only lost a second half of two goals and defended too much too often, but also had to digest something completely more real and inappropriate in the future after Bournemouth-Vleugel player Antoine Semenyo claimed in the first half that he had been racially abused by a home fan in the first row of the main stand.
The match was briefly stopped with the score at 0-0 when referee Anthony Taylor was informed of what reportedly had happened. In the meantime, three police officers were seen during the break who accompanied a man in a wheelchair through the touchline after they seemed to view the images of the incident on a mobile phone.
We will hear much more than certainly, just as we take the time to digest a game of fluctuating fortunes.
For a while, one of the seven new signing sessions by Liverpool seemed to write the story, while the French attacker Hugo Ekitike scored a debut competition in the opening half. The 23-year-old indeed had a very good night and looks an natural fit from Anfield. When Cody Gakpo scored a second one here shortly after the break, the result seemed to determine.
But the team from Slot had been bad at the back all night and when Bournemouth broke twice to score and drag himself level, it was both times the damage to the damage.
A good time then looked like a competition that had gone beyond the home team, but the side of Slot won the title of last season not accidentally and their season was active during home time.
The tribute before the competition to Jota and his brother Andre Silva, lost a car accident last month, were sincere and perfectly formed.
Banners and scarves that carry their names are worn upside down for many weeks and months after this evening. The national anthem of Liverpool 'You will never walk alone', on the other hand, is rarely or never sung with as much depth and beauty as it was here. In the end, Bournemouth supporters now held their own tribute.
As Slot's predecessor Jurgen Klopp said last year, football is the most important of the unimportant things in life and so it felt here for a while.
Live sport, however, has the opportunity to wipe and hold on, and it was not long before the supporters of home were lost in the excitement of seeing their new look team for the first time in Premier League promotion.
With Ekitike who played through the middle and Florian Wirtz, the space behind him occupied as a number ten – while wore the seven of Kevin Keegan and Kenny Dalglish – Liverpool were fluent when almost immediately owned.
Ekitike has a maturity that was immediately clear in the calmness of his link game. Happy to come to the ball, the French fell early twice to bring teammates to play. On such an opportunity, Salah was able to take possession and to work the new Bournemouth -goalkeeper Dorde Petrovic with a classically curled shot. The ball was recycled from the corner and Virgil van Dijk -head text over when he may have scored
There was a lot to like that all. But when they didn't have the ball, Liverpool was much less safe. Left back Milos Kerkez struggled a bit against his former club and was on his heels in the sixth minute when Semenyo took him to lead a cross over and from the head.
Ibrahima Konate immediately played a back pass for a corner, while Evanilson van Bournemouth was able to set a delivery from the right of the Liverpool goal than he had expected.
What this all took care of was entertainment. Liverpool bore a threat without having everything in their own way. As much as Ekitike looked a natural fit, Kerkez was – later booked for a failure on Adam Smith – struggled and, to a lesser extent, Wirtz was.
The interruption that followed the allegation of Semenyo took about three minutes and seemed to design Liverpool more than their opponents.
Shortly after Alex Scott reached the name rule and the ball only withdrew for Marcus Tavernier to shoot weak. Not long after, however, Liverpool was paramount.
Ekitike perhaps had a small fortune when he broke through and beyond a bad challenge by Marcos Senesi, but the calmness of his foot with his right foot was clear.
Ekitike had already had his place in the affections of the Liverpool fans and could have scored almost immediately to only go when a Gakpo Cross jumped at him high.
The second goal arrived quickly enough, spirit. Only four minutes were played in the second half when Gakpo started a lateral run over the penalty area from left to right. It felt like a Bournemouth player would stop him at any time, but nobody seemed to want the job and the Low Right Foot of the Dutch International to Petrovic's left was just as accurate as his new teammate during the opening period.
Liverpool grew into confidence and was increasingly dangerous as such when Bournemouth started to find and leave space. Alexis Macallister worked Petrovic remotely – the keeper who turned around – and – in the 63rd minute – Wirtz -overvoltage in half a chance in the penalty area and a shot inches wide.
The game, that must be said, felt quite past. But it wasn't. Within a minute, one of those Bournemouth -breaks wore fruit while David Brooks Low crossed the left and Semenyo for Van Dijk and Andrew Robertson in favor of eight yards. Shortly thereafter, Van Dijk crucially blocked Brooks while Liverpool staggered over the back. Then they fell over. Salah could not find Dominik Szoboszlai with a short pass on the edge of the Bournemouth area with fifteen minutes left and when the cherries in the number of vomiting, they had men left. Semenyo It was that the ball wore three -quarters of the length of the field and while everyone waited for him to pass it, he made everyone wrong and easily hit Alisson in Liverpool's goal. It was again a great goal of Bournemouth and one that they had grown to earn thoroughly.
Liverpool looked cooked, but somehow saved things with death. Chiesa reacted brilliant and athletically to a falling ball to screw a right foot volley in ten meters by two minutes, while the goal of Salah was typical of him while he was able to score low about the goalkeeper. The Egyptian celebrated as if last week's missed penalty at Wembley hit him more than we had thought.