Liverpool beat Eintracht Frankfurt as Hugo Ekitike scores the decisive goal against his former club, bringing Liverpool back from behind – before choosing not to celebrate.
Jeremy joined the Daily Star in 2010 as Manchester football correspondent and has been chief sports writer for over 10 years. He provides expert coverage of Manchester United and Manchester City, the entire Premier League and English football teams. Jeremy has covered Wimbledon, golf majors and the Olympics, as well as the soccer, rugby and cricket World Cups.
Hugo Ekitike refused to celebrate after scoring the equalizer in the first half against Eintracht Frankfurt. He needs to shake his head.
As if preaching to the converted, he raised his hands in some sort of apology. I apologize. For scoring. This will be a match against a team for which the Frenchman played a full season and appeared in 33 league games. That cannot be called the basis of a lifelong love between him and the German club.
Especially when Liverpool came in the summer and Ekitike threw Frankfurt out like water. His message at the time was essentially: “Thank you for helping me get my career back on track, but I’m going to Merseyside.”
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No one is blaming the forward for going to Liverpool. I can’t say no to that. But please. Instead of going back to where you came from, pledge some kind of undying love and loyalty to the club you turned your back on.
It’s more transparent than a window. Of course, this is nothing new and we’ve seen it before.
Alan Smith often kissed the badge of his hometown club Leeds United. And when Leeds were relegated, he decided to move to Manchester United, the club that Leeds supporters hated more than any other.
Mo Salah, Robin van Persie and Jesse Lingard also found themselves among a long list of culprits who did the same thing as Ekitike.
Lingard hilariously refused to celebrate the 2021 winner against West Ham. He never really became a full-fledged player for West Ham, and of course was actually a player owned by the Hammers, only being loaned to the London Stadium.
There is only one thing in football, and that is to win.
And to win, you have to find the back of the net, which is the most difficult thing in soccer. And doing so should always be celebrated.
If a player loves his former club so much that he can’t bring himself to compete against that team, why did he leave in the first place?
There are usually only two reasons. Either the player received a better offer or the club decided they no longer needed the player.
The brutal truth is that supporters don’t make a fuss about what players do after they leave the club. So any soccer player who thinks it’s inappropriate to upset an opponent by scoring a goal for someone else is deluded. It also speaks volumes about how narcissistic football players are these days.
How about celebrating a goal in front of supporters who are actually rooting for the team you’re playing for? People who spend big bucks to follow you around the world hoping you score a goal.
Why not show respect to the people who paid your wages instead of the people who used to pay your wages?
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