Liverpool needed late goals from Mohamed Salah and Federico Chiesa to earn all three points against Bournemouth in a brilliant opening match of the new Premier League season.
The Reds, who are looking to defend their title from the previous campaign, went two goals up against the Cherries when Hugo Ekitike and Cody Gakpo netted.
But Bournemouth pegged them back through some defensive mishaps as Antoine Semenyo - who had been racially abused earlier in the match - scored twice with two fine finishes.
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Federico Chiesa netted late into the game to help Liverpool earn all three points
|Reuters
It looked for a moment that Liverpool might even go on to lose the match, something that has never happened at Anfield in a Premier League game when the home side went two goals up.
But a rare appearance from Chiesa off the bench proved to be a masterstroke from Arne Slot, with the Italian lashing in a brilliant volley to put the Reds ahead late into the night.
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Salah went on to wrap up all three points with a classic finish to send the Anfield crowd into a frenzy and get their title defence up to the ideal start with three points.
The Egypt international paid tribute to Diogo Jota with his goal celebration on an emotional night on Merseyside.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Jamie Carragher said: "What a start to the Premier League!
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"Liverpool will score a lot and they will concede a lot too. They might be the most entertaining side in the Premier League.
"But that is not something l hope for, because if they perform like that it will be very difficult for them to retain their crown.
"But for me they are far too open and vulnerable to the counter-attack. There is something that needs fixing."
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Antoine Semenyo was racially abused at Anfield and went on to score twice to draw Bournemouth level
|Reuters
The first major incident happened around 30 minutes into the match when referee Anthony Taylor halted the game due to racist abuse from the stands.
Semenyo complained to Taylor, leading to the match being stopped and both coaches being informed over what happened.
When the match resumed, Ekitike went on to net the opener for the home side before grabbing an assist for Gakpo in the second-half.
It made him just the second Liverpool player to score and assist on his debut in the Premier League - after Darwin Nunez.
But Bournemouth pegged Liverpool back through two counter-attacks with Semenyo netting both - highlighting some serious defensive deficiencies for the Reds.
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"An explosion of red relief!"
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Federico Chiesa finds the back of the net! 👏 pic.twitter.com/AyWE9DvvPo
Chiesa's late impact came after a season where he was largely left out by Slot, having made just six Premier League appearances last campaign.
Nevertheless, the Italian was the hero of the night as he netted a sweet volley to break Bournemouth hearts.
However, Liverpool were not done yet and restored their two-goal lead through Salah, who chased down a long ball before managing to squeeze a shot past multiple bodies.