Alexander Isak started making repayments on his British transfer record fee with his first goal for Liverpool but it required a late effort from centre-forward rival Hugo Ekitike to beat Southampton 2-1 in the Carabao Cup.
However, the young Frenchman’s insistence in over-celebrating by removing his shirt to show his name on the back to the cameras was a costly mistake as, having already been booked, he was subsequently sent off.
His pending suspension means Isak will almost certainly start at Crystal Palace on Saturday, although that may have been head coach Arne Slot’s plan anyway as he continues to build up his fitness.
The £125million deadline-day signing from Newcastle’s smart near-post finish lit up an otherwise disjointed first half for a team registering two debutants and 11 changes from Saturday’s Merseyside derby win.
However, Isak has been brought in to achieve more than safe passage to the fourth round of the League Cup against a lowly Championship side.
With Palace followed by a trip to Istanbul to face Galatasaray, his half-time substitution was understandable for a player who had no pre-season and had reported being sore after an hour against Atletico Madrid last week.
He did, though, look taken aback when he headed for the tunnel at half-time only to be told by one of Liverpool’s conditioning staff he had to remain on the pitch to do a cool down during the interval.
Isak, whose last appearance in this competition saw him score the decisive goal to beat his new employers in the final, must have been slightly disappointed as three goals and four assists in five appearances suggests he has a liking for the Saints’ defence.
But his inclusion from the start served to show the gulf in quality with Southampton’s total squad valued at an estimated £150m.
The Swede should have scored after just 44 seconds when he was teed up by Federico Chiesa but Alex McCarthy’s right bicep deflected his shot over.
But the goalkeeper’s next significant involvement was an error as his pass out from the back was picked off by Chiesa, who picked out Isak to whip home a first-time strike started outside the left-hand post in order to beat McCarthy just inside it.
It was further evidence of the small margin for error it came from a swift attack which began after Southampton captain Adam Armstrong had chipped a shot against the crossbar and Leo Scienza headed the rebound wide of an open goal – about the only occasion goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili, one of the two debutants, had looked in any danger.
There was an equally-comfortable first appearance for Giovanni Leoni, the 18-year-old centre-back signed from Roma for £26m – right up until the point he flew into a tackle on the touchline and was carried off on a stretcher.
The Italian’s tall, wiry frame and composed playing style draw immediate comparisons with a certain Daniel Agger, formerly of this parish, but Slot will hope he has none of the Dane’s fitness issues.
Recently-turned 17-year-old Rio Ngumoha showed flashes of his burgeoning talent and Southampton were so concerned about him they doubled up at every opportunity while Isak’s replacement Ekitike continued to display an eye for dropping deep to link up play which raised the prospect both strikers could operate together.
But his – or any of his team-mates’ – inability to score the second meant when Wataru Endo made a mess of clearing a 76th-minute corner, Joshua Quarshie flicked the loose ball into the path of Shea Charles who could not miss from five yards.
However, Ekitike maintained this season’s narrative by tapping Chiesa’s square pass into an empty net five minutes from time before his moment of madness saw him depart early.
