LIVERPOOL — In a stunning start at Anfield on Saturday, Liverpool striker Hugo Ekitike wasted no time making his mark, scoring the fastest goal of the 2025-26 Premier League season just 46 seconds into the match against Brighton & Hove Albion.
The lightning-fast strike has drawn immediate comparisons to former midfielder Naby Keita, whose Liverpool career is often remembered for unfulfilled potential despite flashes of brilliance. Ekitike’s goal is the quickest for the Reds in the league since Keita found the net in a record 15 seconds against Huddersfield Town in April 2019.
A Flying Start
With star forward Mohamed Salah surprisingly named on the bench for the fourth consecutive game and Alexander Isak out with a knock, manager Arne Slot turned to Ekitike to lead the line. The decision paid dividends instantly.
The goal materialized after Brighton winger Yankuba Minteh mishit a clearance near the corner flag. The ball ballooned into the path of Liverpool defender Joe Gomez, who headed it down into the box. Ekitike, reacting sharpest, smashed a volley into the roof of the net from 12 yards out, leaving goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen with no chance.
The goal marks a rich vein of form for the Frenchman, tallying his ninth goal of the season in all competitions and his third in the last two Premier League outings.
The “Worrying” Omen.
While the Anfield faithful erupted in celebration, the early goal carries a peculiar “curse” in this specific fixture. Statistics show that in each of the last four completed Premier League meetings between Liverpool and Brighton, the team that scored the opening goal ultimately failed to win the match.
This trend—combined with the memory of Keita’s own rapid goal being one of the few highlights in a difficult Reds tenure—has led some fans and pundits to view the strike with cautious optimism. Unlike Keita, however, Ekitike appears to be building a sustainable rhythm since his summer move from Eintracht Frankfurt.
“It was a perfect start, but we know the history of this fixture,” one commentator noted. “Ekitike is emulating a record held by a ‘flop,’ but his current form suggests he’s ready to write a very different legacy.”
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