Arne Slot must start ‘unplayable’ Liverpool star vs Everton who was dropped in Atletico Madrid win
Liverpool beat Atletico Madrid 3-2 on Wednesday as Arne Slot finally fielded what might be his strongest team at present.
Liverpool fans were delighted as Alexander Isak made his debut for the Reds. The Swede was quiet in his first outing at Anfield, but the future is truly bright for the Premier League champions.
The only negative was that Hugo Ekitike had to drop to the bench.
Ally McCoist says Ekitike must get used to being second fiddle, but Arne Slot needs to make sure the Frenchman doesn’t feel undervalued at Anfield.
Many Liverpool fans were not happy at Ekitike being dropped, but he could return to the starting lineup in the first Merseyside derby of the season against Everton.
Arne Slot must restore Hugo Ekitike to the starting lineup against Everton
Liverpool’s next game is a massive one as the Merseyside derby comes to Anfield on 20 September.
Given the drama and hysterics of the Reds’ season so far, the only thing that could outdo five late winners in five games is the type of storyline only the Merseyside derby can create.
However, this game will surely come too soon for Isak to start. While he now has 58 minutes under his belt after his Atletico Madrid cameo, the derby will likely be too intense for him at this stage.
More importantly, Ekitike must get the chance to compete for his spot, even if Liverpool did spend £125million to sign Isak.
Julien Laurens argues this was always inevitable.
“We knew that as soon as Isak was fit, the one to be dropped was Ekitike. It was just very clear,” Laurens told BBC Radio 5 Live. “Can they play together? Of course they can. You could play Ekitike from the start, but off the left, but that’s not really his position. I’m not sure how well it’s going to work.
“It was just one of Ekitike and Isak [in the team], and it was never going to be Ekitike over Isak unless Isak was not fit.”
Thierry Henry quotes suggest Ekitike’s mindset is strong enough to compete with Alexander Isak
After Ekitike joined Liverpool, his mindset was praised by Thierry Henry and based on his quotes, it would appear as though the striker has the strength of character to battle it out with Isak for a starting role.
“Hugo had an outstanding season with Reims,” Henry said.
“He came out of nowhere, he’s a local boy, and he took the league by storm. Then he went to Paris Saint-Germain, and that was the year of Messi, Neymar and Mbappe. You’re not going to start a lot, so he struggled.
“He went to Germany, and we saw what he did last year. That duo with Marmoush was lethal, they were both unplayable. When Marmoush left, Ekitike struggled a bit, but then he went back to scoring goals.
“Now he’s playing for Liverpool.”
Slot has the dream problem for a coach: too many good players. However, the football season is long and Ekitike will get his chance to shine. Hopefully he gets another chance to show his talents against Everton.
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