Latest Liverpool news after Hugo Ekitike made his maiden appearance for the RedsHugo Ekitike of Liverpool(Image: Getty Images)
Hugo Ekitike has posted two wordless messages after making his unofficial Liverpool debut on Wednesday. The 23-year-old, who signed for Arne Slot’s side in a £79 million plus add-ons deal from Eintracht Frankfurt last week, made his first appearance in Red against Yokohama F Marinos.
Slot named Ekitike in his starting XI to face the Japanese outfit and the former Paris Saint-Germain forward lasted the opening 45 minutes before he was taken off at half-time.
Darwin Nunez came on in his absence and the Reds went on to win 3-1. Despite going behind through Ashai Uneaka’s strike, Liverpool responded and turned it around with Florian Wirtz scoring his first for the club, while Trey Nyoni and Rio Ngumoha also found the net for Slot’s men in Japan.
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For Ekitike, he endured a difficult first appearance for the Reds. The Frenchman didn’t have a real chance during the game but worked hard and tried to link up with his new teammates.
And after making his Liverpool bow, Ekitike took to social media to send a message to his new supporters. In two separate Instagram stories, he posted an image of him in action against Yokohama.
Hugo Ekitike shared a message on Instagram following his Liverpool debut(Image: Instagram / hekitike)
Although Ekitike may not have had the best first appearance in a Liverpool shirt, the plan was always to use him for around half an hour to 45 minutes. Speaking before the match, Slot said: “Ekitike can play half an hour to 45 minutes, we decided it would be best for him to start.
“So let’s see if he can get half to half time, or I have to take him out already earlier.”
After the game, Slot decided to heap praise on teenager Ngumoha following another impressive cameo performance. “He was not the only one that impacted the game from the bench,” Slot said.
“Trey Nyoni scored, assist by Jeremie Frimpong, Curtis Jones played a big part in the first goal. But Rio again showed the quality he has. “That is nice for us because we have a lot of very good players but to get some brand new players from the academy is helpful. It gives energy to the team.
“It is nice to see young players at 16, 17 or 18 impacting the game. But there was also a moment in the game where he should have squared it to Curtis.
“But if you are 16 and you can impact games like he did, that is definitely a compliment.”
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