Liverpool's new signing matches 48-year-old club record

Hugo Ekitike’s debut season for Liverpool continues to go exceptionally well, as his goal against Barnsley in the FA Cup helped him match a 48-year record at the club. 

Hugo Ekitike etched his name into Liverpool history on Monday night, when he scored in the 4–1 FA Cup third-round victory against Barnsley at Anfield.

 That strike meant Ekitike had scored in five different competitions this season: the FA Community Shield, Premier League, Carabao Cup, UEFA Champions League and now the FA Cup, during his debut campaign with the Reds. 

According to the club, no other Liverpool player in almost half a century has replicated that spread of goals in a single season. In total for the season, he has 12 goals in 27 appearances, including eight in the Premier League.

The only other player to achieve this rare feat at Liverpool was Sir Kenny Dalglish, arguably the club’s greatest ever goalscorer, who did it in his debut season in 1977/78 after his transfer from Celtic. 

Dalglish’s campaign saw him score in the Football League, European Cup, FA Cup, League Cup and European Super Cup, a spread of five competitions that stood unmatched until Ekitike’s strike against Barnsley. 

Dalglish’s season that year culminated in him scoring the winning goal in Liverpool’s 1–0 win in the 1978 European Cup final, cementing his legendary status; fans of the Reds will hope the France international can emulate that feat as well.