Liverpool destroyed Eintracht Frankfurt and Hugo Ekitike scored crucially against his former club to get Liverpool back level after falling behind – before electing not to celebrate
Hugo Ekitike refused to celebrate his first half equaliser against Eintracht Frankfurt. He needs to give his head a wobble.
Like he was preaching to the converted, he held his hands up in some sort of apology. An apology. For scoring. Against a team for whom the Frenchman played one full season and made 33 league appearances. Which is hardly the foundations for a lifelong love affair between him and the German club.
Particularly when Liverpool came calling in the summer and Ekitike dumped Frankfurt like a hot stone. His message then, basically, read: ‘Thanks for helping me get my career back on track fellas, but I’m off to Merseyside.’
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No one is blaming the forward for going to Liverpool. You can’t say no to that. But do me a favour. Don’t go back to where you came from, and pledge some sort of undying love and loyalty to a club you turned your back on.
It’s more transparent than a window. Of course it’s nothing new and we’ve seen this before.
Alan Smith used to kiss the badge of Leeds United, his hometown club. Then, when they were relegated, he decided to move to the one club Leeds supporters hate more than any other: Manchester United
Mo Salah, Robin Van Persie and Jesse Lingard find themselves among a long list of culprits to have also done what Ekitike did.
Lingard, laughably, refused to celebrate a winner against West Ham in 2021. He’d never actually been a bona-fide West Ham player – one actually owned by the Hammers – of course, having only been on loan at the London Stadium.
Football is about one thing: Winning.
And winning requires finding the back of the net, the hardest thing in football. And doing so should always be celebrated.
If a player loves one of his former clubs so much he can’t bring himself to celebrate against them, then why did he leave in the first place?
Usually, there’s only two reasons: The player got a better offer or the club decided they didn’t want the player anymore.
The brutal truth is supporters don’t give a hoot about what a player does once he leaves their club. So a footballer thinking it’s inappropriate to score a goal for someone else and upset them, is nothing short of deluded. It also speaks volumes for how narcissistic footballers are these days.
How about celebrating a goal in front of those supporters who actually support the team you play for? Those who break the bank to follow you around the world – hoping you score a goal.
How about showing respect to those people who pay your wages – instead of those who used to.
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