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You can never read too much into pre-season — and Athletic Club, though it finished fourth in La Liga last season, put up a limited test across both games in the Anfield double-header — but Arne Slot's new-look Liverpool attack is clearly shaping up nicely.
Cody Gakpo was quite lively and scored twice, Mohamed Salah netted once and looked sharp, and Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike already look to be making connections. They have only known each other for a short time, but quality, intelligent players tend to gel quickly.
Ekitike, in particular, will have surprised a few on his Anfield debut. While he cost a substantial sum — around $106 million (£79 million), potentially, including add-ons — Wirtz was always likely to take the limelight. He is the superstar, club-record signing.
In the end, though, they both looked good. Wirtz excited the crowd with some silky touches and got a big ovation every time he went over to take a corner kick, but Ekitike sprinkled some of his own magic too.
The 23-year-old French striker set up the opening goal with a lovely dribble and low cross. In his 57 minutes on the field, he pressed well and looked technically very good.
While it comes with the significant caveat of this being very early days, Ekitike looked more polished and considered than Darwin Nunez. He didn't run offside, and lots of his touches were deft and clever.
An appearance of less than hour in a pre-season friendly is not the time to be making sweeping judgments or bold predictions of what might happen when the proper stuff starts, but equally, there were positive signs here.
"He is a big talent," the former Reds striker Michael Owen told Liverpool.com this week. "I think it shows what Liverpool thinks of him, because Alexander Isak was always in the back of their mind, and there was always the potential of going for Isak, yet they still went ahead with Ekitike regardless.
"It was an 'as well as, we’re definitely getting him' type of thing, and that just shows you how much Liverpool think of him. It’s a big investment.
"There's lots of question marks, because coming into the Premier League is never easy. It’s different. But yeah, a huge signing.
"It’s almost like he’s been slightly overshadowed because even though he’s signed, Isak is still on people’s lips. But it could be a fantastic signing."
Last year, Ekitike scored 22 times for Eintracht Frankfurt. When Omar Marmoush joined Manchester City in the winter transfer window, it was he who stepped up to fill the void and fire his side into the Champions League places.
As Owen says, there is a reason that Liverpool moved decisively for the player when it could have looked elsewhere. At a relatively high price point, the Reds were still determined to get a deal done, beating several teams to the prize.
Though this was only a brief glimpse of Ekitike's full potential, it was an exciting one. And with Salah, Wirtz and Gakpo behind him, he won't be short of chances.
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