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In full: Arne Slot's programme notes for Liverpool's Premier League opener


 The Reds' defence of the title they lifted nearly three months ago begins with a test against Andoni Iraola's Cherries at Anfield.

Tributes will be paid to Diogo Jota and Andre Silva before the 8pm BST kick-off, following the brothers' tragic passing in a road traffic accident in July.

Slot writes: "We know that this will be a very emotional occasion, given it is the first league game we have played since we lost Diogo and Andre.

"As I have said previously, the tributes that have been paid throughout the football world, and especially within the LFC community, have been truly special, and I know that tonight we will come together to honour them once more.

"I believe that Diogo's wife, his children and his family will be in attendance and it is important that, as a club, we show that they will always have our love and support as they deal with this most tragic of situations. We are there for them always.

"In a football sense, we are, of course, glad to be back here for a competitive game. It has been a while, of course, but there is nothing like Anfield under the lights and we are all looking forward to getting our campaign under way this evening.

"We know that this will be a tough beginning for us, and if we needed any reminder of that, then the FA Community Shield last weekend provided it.

"Crystal Palace, remember, were the team that finished 12th in the Premier League last season, and you saw at Wembley the quality that they have in their team.

"I expect similar from Bournemouth, who finished ninth in the table last year and who have a lot of very good players and, in Andoni Iraola, a very good manager too. We welcome them to our home, of course.

"From our perspective, there have been a lot of positives from our pre-season, as well as a few areas we clearly need to improve in.

"I think you saw during our tour of Asia, against Athletic Club and against Palace, that we are able to create more chances, that we are more comfortable in possession and more dominant with the ball.

"Last season we had a lot of ball possession but that didn't always lead to promising situations. Now, we are better in creating and getting promising situations than we were, in my opinion, throughout the whole of last season.

Read Arne Slot's column in the matchday programme for Liverpool's Premier League opener with AFC Bournemouth this evening.

The Reds' defence of the title they lifted nearly three months ago begins with a test against Andoni Iraola's Cherries at Anfield.

Tributes will be paid to Diogo Jota and Andre Silva before the 8pm BST kick-off, following the brothers' tragic passing in a road traffic accident in July.

Slot writes: "We know that this will be a very emotional occasion, given it is the first league game we have played since we lost Diogo and Andre.

"As I have said previously, the tributes that have been paid throughout the football world, and especially within the LFC community, have been truly special, and I know that tonight we will come together to honour them once more.

"I believe that Diogo's wife, his children and his family will be in attendance and it is important that, as a club, we show that they will always have our love and support as they deal with this most tragic of situations. We are there for them always.

"In a football sense, we are, of course, glad to be back here for a competitive game. It has been a while, of course, but there is nothing like Anfield under the lights and we are all looking forward to getting our campaign under way this evening.

"We know that this will be a tough beginning for us, and if we needed any reminder of that, then the FA Community Shield last weekend provided it.

"Crystal Palace, remember, were the team that finished 12th in the Premier League last season, and you saw at Wembley the quality that they have in their team.

"I expect similar from Bournemouth, who finished ninth in the table last year and who have a lot of very good players and, in Andoni Iraola, a very good manager too. We welcome them to our home, of course.

"From our perspective, there have been a lot of positives from our pre-season, as well as a few areas we clearly need to improve in.

"I think you saw during our tour of Asia, against Athletic Club and against Palace, that we are able to create more chances, that we are more comfortable in possession and more dominant with the ball.

"Last season we had a lot of ball possession but that didn't always lead to promising situations. Now, we are better in creating and getting promising situations than we were, in my opinion, throughout the whole of last season.

"Hopefully you have seen already what some of our new signings can bring. It was good to see both Hugo Ekitike and Jeremie Frimpong on the scoresheet at Wembley, and there were good contributions too from Florian Wirtz and Milos Kerkez, who plays against his former club this evening of course.

"In terms of the improvement we will be looking for from the team, I think it is clear that in a defensive sense we can get better.

"I said after the game on Sunday that while we have not been conceding a lot of chances throughout pre-season, the chances we are conceding have tended to lead to goals. That was the case against Palace, and before that against Athletic Club, AC Milan and Yokohama F. Marinos.

"What made us really strong last season was we won often by a margin of one goal, and that had mostly to do with us keeping a clean sheet or as a maximum conceding one goal. That is something we would like to continue this season.

"Generally, though, we are in a good place heading into the new campaign. It is true that there have been a few changes to our squad, with new players coming into the club and others moving on.

"Naturally, that means there will be a period of adaptation, but I am confident in the squad we have and that it will be ready for the challenges ahead.

"Those challenges start tonight, and I am looking forward to seeing and hearing you all in full voice again. Your support is never taken for granted, and it will be crucial for us once more as we look to defend our Premier League title."

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