Hugo Ekitike scored for Liverpool against Everton earlier todayplaceholder image
Hugo Ekitike scored for Liverpool against Everton earlier today | Liverpool FC via Getty Images
Arne Slot has a conundrum to solve for Liverpool after the international break but has one manager done him a favour?
Arne Slot thought that he had solved all of Liverpool’s problems after convincing wins over Aston Villa and Real Madrid only to come crashing back to earth with a humbling defeat to Man City.
The Reds boss isn’t stupid though, he knows that progress is never linear and that there were other factors at play in the defeat to their Premier League title rivals. Had Virgil van Dijk’s controversially disallowed goal been allowed to stand, things might have been different. City were good value for their win, but they were also given a helping hand.
Didier Deschamps does Liverpool a favour
The return of domestic action sees Slot with a new problem to solve now that Alexander Isak is fit again. Does he stick with the XI that worked so well against Madrid and Villa with Florian Wirtz playing off the left of a front three, or does he restore Isak to the starting line-up and pick either Cody Gakpo or Hugo Ekitike on the left?
The international break is the scourge of club managers, however, on this occasion, Slot will have been thankful to Didier Deschamps for what he did with France during the last two games. Whether it was intentional or not, the France boss has done Slot a favour in that he deployed Ekitike on the left-hand side of their attack where he looked a natural with a ball carrying threat and another goal scoring option in the final third.
The problem this presents Slot is, if he goes with Ekitike on the left, he now needs to find a new home for Wirtz. The more solid midfield three has looked much-improved recently, but it the manager now has to double-down or start again.
What has Slot said about playing Ekitike on the left
Slot has already hinted that Ekitike could be played in a wider role to make room for Isak.
“Hugo could also play off the left in my opinion or maybe around Alex, where Alex is more of a out-and-out no.9,” the Dutchman told TNT Sports. “He’s just the finisher of the attacks, could drop into midfield. But Hugo is yeah, maybe more a player that also likes to drop more in spaces coming off the left, where Alex I think prefers to be in the middle.”
Deschamps was also complimentary after trying Ekitike on the wing.
“Hugo Ekitike is also gaining confidence,” he said via Foot Mercato. “He’s a young player, with a lot of dynamism. He has the ability to break through with his speed. These are attacking elements that are adding to the squad.”
Slot has chopped and changed throughout the season so it will be interesting to see if he has learned anything in recent weeks. The mistake that he made in the early parts of the campaign is that there was no consistency, if he does plan to play Ekitike and Isak together, he shouldn’t just throw them together, they should gradually have the game time increased rather than starting one game and dropping the idea the next.
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