Hugo Ekitike eviscerates Newcastle to show glimpse of Liverpool’s future

And that was why Newcastle United wanted to sign Hugo Ekitike . This was the eviscerating evidence of why they saw him as Alexander Isak ’s replacement and why, at times this season, it has not mattered to Liverpool that the £125m man has been injured or ineffective.

As Ekitike’s name rang around Anfield, Newcastle got an unwanted reminder of the one who got away. Twice, really, given they first targeted him when he instead joined Paris Saint-Germain and then bid for him again before Liverpool pounced. Eddie Howe recognised Ekitike’s talent. He just could not lure him to Tyneside.

With a predictability that was nevertheless devastating, Ekitike condemned his former suitors to defeat. In a fixture that tends to deliver drama, he was the leading man. A two-minute brace earned Liverpool a first league victory of 2026. Even in the continued absence of Isak, condemned to the role of a spectator in an oversized club coat, it became a triumph of Liverpool’s recruitment. Milos Kerkez supplied the pass for Ekitike’s second. Florian Wirtz ended with an assist and a goal. His partnership with the striker is increasingly mouth-watering and they orchestrated a turnaround.

It means that Liverpool return to the top five. For all the vitriol directed online at Arne Slot , Liverpool have only lost once in their last 16 matches. They also addressed one criticism. They had only taken two points from losing positions in the Premier League all season. Three came in a night; in the space of a couple of minutes, really.

And via Ekitike. Liverpool and Newcastle spent the summer contesting the services of two strikers. For much of the last six months, Ekitike has looked the better of them. He has had to shoulder a heavy burden, with Isak’s impact so negligible, but he has done so admirably.

He has 15 goals this season, nine in his last 12 games. Liverpool’s future is taking shape as the new creative combination are fast developing a chemistry. Wirtz and Ekitike have a recent habit of teaming up for goals, usually with the German as the scorer. This time the Frenchman got the goal, Ekitike finishing from Wirtz’s low cutback. Liverpool’s biggest summer buy, Isak, was left applauding from his seat behind the substitutes.

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Hugo Ekitike arrived in the box to poke home Liverpool's equaliser (Getty Images)

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Two minutes later Ekitike netted his second to send Liverpool ahead (Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

Ekitike’s second was brilliant, a change of pace fooling a dozing Malick Thiaw, a shot with the outside of his right boot catching Nick Pope out. He could have had a first Liverpool hat-trick, but shot wide after an error by Dan Burn.

Victory was secured by Wirtz’s wonderfully precise finish, bringing an assist for an otherwise out-of-sorts Mohamed Salah. After a long wait to open his account, it was a sixth goal in 10 games for the £100m man and for Thiaw, who gave the ball away, another moment to forget. Newcastle continued making mistakes: Pope spilled Dominik Szoboszlai’s corner to allow Ibrahima Konate to prod in a fourth goal, and one on his return after the loss of his father.

For the first time since August, Liverpool struck four times in a top-flight game. Both the teamsheet and the scoresheet reflected the knock-on effect of Ekitike’s choices. Howe benched the two strikers he bought with the proceeds of Isak’s sale. His £125m double act, Yoane Wissa and Nick Woltemade, came on together after 73 minutes. The game was gone by then. Neither contributed much.

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Anthony Gordon fired Newcastle into the lead (REUTERS)

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An emotional Ibrahima Konate scored Liverpool's fourth on his return to the team following the death of his father (REUTERS)

And yet Howe’s initial choice had been vindicated. He asked Anthony Gordon to lead the line, turning to a Liverpool fan and a player sent off against his boyhood club in August. This time, Gordon promised a different kind of explosive impact.

A relentless figure roamed to considerable effect and Gordon drove in a low shot after he was inadvertently found by Alexis Mac Allister. It was the England international’s first Premier League goal in open play for over a year, a strange statistic considering how prolific he has been in the Champions League and a reason why Newcastle are still missing Isak’s goals.

Alisson saved a second shot from Gordon, just as the Liverpool goalkeeper was to deny Harvey Barnes in the second half. The winger had been inches from breaking the deadlock. In a first half when Newcastle had a host of corners, he nearly struck from a well-worked free kick, rattling the post. Newcastle were the ascendant then but their away form remains problematic and, with or without Isak, their trips to Anfield tend to be fruitless.

So, too, their games without their captain. They still have not won a Premier League match without Bruno Guimaraes since his first start in the competition, four years ago, and the Brazilian was absent.

They have not won at Anfield for three decades. Thirty years of hurt were compounded by the knowledge it was Ekitike who extended their long wait.