Danny Murphy says 'brilliant' Liverpool player looked really annoyed against Southampton

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Although this time they did not score quite as late, with this goal coming in the 85th minute, they still required a fairly-late winner to get them over the line.

Arne Slot made 11 changes to give some stars a rest, although Southampton proved a trickier task than many would have thought.

The Saints kept themselves in the game and were unlucky not to take it to penalties, but Hugo Ekitike came off the bench to spoil the party.

However, he quickly exited the pitch after being given a second yellow card for taking his shirt off in the celebration, with the Frenchman not quite looking himself during his short time on the pitch.

Ex-Liverpool player Danny Murphy had a theory for this, and he believed that Ekitike just looked really annoyed throughout.

Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images

When Liverpool got the Alexander Isak deal over the line, many fans loved the idea of him but wondered how Slot would manage having both him and Ekitike.

The early signs were promising, though, and both seemed very supportive of one another, although the Frenchman’s performance on Tuesday night suggested otherwise.

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With Isak scoring in the first-half, Ekitike made it his mission to do the same when he got the chance, although he looked more annoyed than motivated.

This is something Murphy recognised, with the former Red believing that Isak’s arrival might be getting to him more than he lets on.

“He seemed to have a bee in his bonnet from the moment he came on,” Murphy said on talkSPORT.

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“Look, he’s had a wonderful start, the fans have taken to him and he’s got five goals.”

When asked if it was due to the presence of Isak breathing down his neck by Simon Jordan, Murphy replied: “A little bit, it felt that way.

It felt like ‘here’s my shirt, here’s my name, it’s about me’.”

Either way, he could have cost his side and now that he is missing Saturday, there is still a chance that this sending off comes back to bite Liverpool.

Of course, something like this is very small, but based on the Isak situation and Liverpool pushing for the title, things like this cannot happen again.

Ekitike needs to use Isak’s arrival to motivate him to score goals, but he also needs to take the emotion out of it and just focus on football.

Robertson gave his honest admission but knows that the Frenchman will learn, with Liverpool fans hoping so too.

If the Reds successfully navigate Crystal Palace away on Saturday, it will truly be an excellent result, although Ekitike has just made the job a whole lot harder.