It was a Cup night, so did you expect anything other than surprises? At Anfield, things rarely go as planned on nights like these, and once again, the unexpected happened.

Alexander Isak was in for a surprise, as he was instructed to do more running during half-time just when he thought he could retreat to the comfort of the changing room. There was also a surprise for Will Still, whose Southampton team left behind their inconsistent performance.

But the biggest shock was for Arne Slot, who witnessed Hugo Etikite both rescuing the game in one instant, only to create an unnecessary dilemma for his manager moments later with decisions so questionable even his teammates were taken aback.

‘Needless? Yes,’ Slot grumbled. ‘And it was foolish, indeed. The first incident (for dissent) was needless and, quite frankly, foolish; you have to keep your emotions in check. I understand how challenging it is in the Premier League, especially as a number nine.

‘The defender almost has free rein, and even a simple shirt pull or push results in a free-kick against you. It’s crucial to maintain emotional control, and if you can’t, at least do it in a way that avoids a yellow card.’

‘I said after I got my red card against Everton that is always stupid because you can show emotions, but if it leads to a yellow or red card, that is stupid. That’s what happened in the first yellow. Needless, not smart, you call it stupid, I called it stupid right away as well.’

Taking the spotlight away from Isak, who got the first goal of his Liverpool career, was going to take some doing but Ekitike managed it. Still, it will be a relief to the £125million man that he is up and running, having got off the mark like an impatient batsmen scampering a quick single.

Quick-thinking from Federico Chiesa, an instinctive dart into space and Isak compounded the error Southampton goalkeeper Alex McCarthy had made, conceding possession so cheaply, by sweeping a shot into the Anfield Road End net. The locals had waited for this moment and how they enjoyed it.

But the man himself? Perhaps he envisaged being greeted with slaps on the back as he made his way off at the interval – you could certainly tell he wasn’t expecting to see Aaron Briggs, one of Arne Slot’s coaching team, ordering him back out to do some shuttle runs.

‘That’s a new one on me,’ Isak said later with a smile. ‘It was funny. I’ve got to get fit.’

It was that kind of night. Slot looked exasperated once again as Liverpool needlessly conceded an equaliser to Shea Charles late in the second half, an equaliser that was deserved and owed nothing to good fortune.

There is a vulnerability about the Premier League champions defensively and, again, it showed.

Southampton are struggling to find a rhythm in the league under their new head coach but, free of the pressure that accompanies the grind of trying to win three points each week, they took what was a free shot and almost knocked Liverpool clean out.

Quite how the game would have unfolded had, in the 42nd minute, Southampton taken the glorious chance that came their way is anyone’s guess but it would not have out of keeping had they gone into the interval with the advantage rather than Liverpool.

But everything changed in the 41st minute Adam Armstonhg hit the bar after a quick break and Leo Scienza somehow contrived to head wide of a gaping goal with Giorgio Mamardashvili, the Georgia international making his Liverpool debut, stricken on the ground.

Football is cruel and, in the next attack, Liverpool went up the field, McCarthy tried to play out in his six yard area – sometimes coaches and players can be too clever for their own good – and Liverpool had smashed their visitors on the nose to eye-watering effect.

Southampton, to their credit, came back when Charles profited in the 75th minute from some lax defending at a corner but the dream result was unobtainable. Ekitike saw to that, as he turned in Chiesa’s selflessness, but he also saw that his manager would be furious with his celebrations.

‘I told him that if you score in the Champions League final in the 87th minute after outplaying three players and hitting it in the top corner, I can maybe understand,’ Slot said. ‘He is like: “This is all about me, what did I do!” But I am old-fashioned, I’m 47 and old.

‘I never played at this level but did score a few goals and if I scored a goal like this, I’d have turned around and walked up to Federico Chiesa and said: ‘This goal is all about you, this is not about me’.”

The message could not have been said any louder. Repeats will not be tolerated.