Not his goal: Ally McCoist loved one Hugo Ekitike moment v Barnsley which was ‘out of this world’

It comes as no surprise that Hugo Ekitike made a telling impact in his first game back from injury as Liverpool progressed to the fourth round of the FA Cup on Monday night.

The Frenchman missed the Reds’ draws against Fulham and Arsenal due to a muscle problem, but he was back into action tonight as he came off the bench for the final half-hour of the 4-1 win over Barnsley at Anfield.

The 23-year-old rounded off the scoring in the fourth minute of stoppage time, but even that was arguably eclipsed by his wonderful assist to tee up Florian Wirtz for the 84th-minute goal which finally killed off the contest.

Collecting a pass from Curtis Jones, Ekitike produced a sublime backflick to lay the ball off to the German playmaker, who curled an exquisite shot past Murphy Cooper for Liverpool’s third goal of the night.

McCoist wowed by Ekitike assist for Wirtz

Speaking on co-commentary for TNT Sports, Ally McCoist was wowed not just by the finish but also the assist from the Reds’ number 22.

The ex-Rangers forward gushed: “Beautiful goal. Wonderful finish. Lovely flick. Everything about it was special. Ekitike’s flick is out of this world. Wirtz curls the ball into the top corner and the goalkeeper has no chance.”

Ekitike return is most timely for Liverpool

There has been criticism of a lack of chemistry in the Liverpool team this season due to the number of new signings last summer, but the link-up between Ekitike and Wirtz for the latter’s goal was a joy to watch.

The Frenchman made it look so nonchalant with the first-time flick to tee up his teammate, and the quality of the Reds’ goals tonight was outstanding, ranging from Dominik Szoboszlai’s piledriver to Jeremie Frimpong’s slaloming first-half finish.

With Alexander Isak sidelined with a long-term injury and Mo Salah not due back from the Africa Cup of Nations for at least another week, the 23-year-old’s return to action was timely ahead of the Premier League clash against Burnley next Saturday.

Now onto 12 goals for the season, Ekitike showed no adverse effects whatsoever from the issue which kept him out of the previous two games, and he’ll surely start for Liverpool when they host the Clarets at the weekend.

If the France international avoids any other injury concerns between now and the summer, it seems more likely than not that he’ll reach the 20-goal mark in his first campaign in English football, which’d be a tremendous feat.

You can view Ekitike’s assist for Wirtz to score below, via TNT Sports on X:

Florian Wirtz surely seals the win for Liverpool with this stunner

@tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/9gXjm8L6OE

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 12, 2026

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