Title defence - Perfect Hugo Ekitiké debut helps Liverpool overcome tough Bournemouth test

15.08.2025 - 23:12 | source: Transfermarkt | Reading Time: 3 mins

Liverpool 4-2 Bournemouth

Title defence - Perfect Hugo Ekitiké debut helps Liverpool overcome tough Bournemouth test

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Liverpool kicked off their defence of the Premier League title in dramatic fashion on Friday night, with a 4-2 win over Bournemouth. Despite Andoni Iraola’s side being pulled apart in the transfer window, losing no less than three of their first-choice defensive line from last season, the Cherries came from two goals down to level the scoring at Anfield with 15 minutes left of the game. However, to the surprise of most, it was none other than Federico Chiesa that came on late in the match to score a right-footed volley a few minutes from time to claim all three points for Arne Slot’s side, before an impressive fourth goal from Mohamed Salah in the dying minutes of the match.

Ekitike enjoys perfect Premier League debut with Liverpool

In a match that Bournemouth undoubtedly made Liverpool work hard for their points, it was new signing Hugo Ekitiké that stood out among Liverpool’s many new faces. Not only did the French striker open the scoring in the first half when a fortuitous deflection playing him through one-v-one to tuck the ball into the back of the net in the 37th minute, but the young talent also then helped Liverpool double their scoring by setting Cody Gakpo up to score an impressive individual effort shortly after half time.

Of course, Ekitike’s success in front of goal on Friday night for his new club will come as no surprise to football fans that have followed Ekitiké’s career to date. As we can see in the graph above, Ekitiké not only bagged an impressive 22 goals in all competitions for Eintracht Frankfurt last season, but he also picked up an equally important 12 assists for the Bundesliga side too. And while that was undoubtedly his most productive season to date, we can see that over the course of his career he has always been a forward that typically creates goals at around half the rate of his own goalscoring.

Player Comparison Hugo Ekitiké

Alexander Isak

Liverpool FC Newcastle United €75.00m Market Value €120.00m

23 Age 25

Centre-Forward Position Centre-Forward

- Contract until 30.06.2028

Full Player Comparison

This, undoubtedly, is what led to Liverpool paying a handsome fee of €90 million for the 23-year-old striker in the summer transfer window. Not only did the Anfield club want another goalscorer to help them retain the Premier League title, but they also wanted a player that could facilitate Slot’s other attacking talents in the final third. After all, Liverpool’s centre of gravity tends to shift out to the right wing, where Salah is usually expecting the ball at all times. If Ekitiké can find a way to score goals and create them in equal measure for his striker partners, then he’ll not only be an excellent signing but may lead to the club thinking twice about breaking their transfer record to sign Alexander Isak from Newcastle.

Bournemouth prove they’re more than just the sum of their parts

Although Iraola’s team were ultimately forced to make the long trip back to the south coast with nothing to show for their performances, there’s little doubt that Bournemouth fans will take plenty of encouragement from what they saw at Anfield on Friday night. This summer’s transfer window has been an extremely difficult one for the Cherries to navigate, having lost Dean Huijsen, Ilya Zabarnyi and Milos Kerkez for a combined €172m. Despite losing the match by conceding four goals, Bournemouth were extremely competitive for much of the game and for the most part new defensive signings, central defender Bafodé Diakité, left-back Adrien Truffert and goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic all put in solid performances.

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