Samir Nasri. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)placeholder image
Samir Nasri. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The former Man City and Arsenal attacking midfielder has been speaking about Liverpool striker Hugo Ekitike.
Samir Nasri saluted the performance of Hugo Ekitike in Liverpool’s victory over Marseille.
The Reds earned a 3-0 triumph over the French side at the Stade Velodrome. A clever Dominik Szoboszlai free-kick, an own goal from keeper Gerónimo Rulli and a late Cody Gakpo strike ensured Arne Slot’s side a well-deserved win.
Ekitike was returning to his homeland for the clash, with the striker hoping to be named in France’s World Cup squad later this year. Liverpool’s £79 million summer signing did not score, although he’s hit 12 goals since arriving from Eintracht Frankfurt.
But despite not being on target against Marseille, Nasir was highly impressed with what he saw from his countryman. The former Manchester City and Arsenal attacking midfielder told French TV station Canal+: “What is really impressive is that even though he's a striker and stats are extremely important, we still highlight the match he had even though he didn’t score or provide an assist.
“But the visual impression: he's dangerous every time he touches the ball, he creates the gap against his direct opponent every single time, and he manages to link up with all the Liverpool players.”
On Liverpool’s victory, Nasri added: If [Marseille head coach Roberto De Zerbi] wanted to put Liverpool in difficulty, he would have had to create some disorder and change his way of playing.
“Liverpool's team had a compact block and defended very well. Marseille has no regrets to have because Liverpool was largely superior.”
Ekitike’s start to his Liverpool career was somewhat overshadowed by the Alexander Isak transfer saga. Isak eventually signed for a British record fee of £125 million from Newcastle United, having trained alone for much of the summer.
But Isak endured a slow start to his Liverpool career because of a lack of fitness. He suffered a groin injury and is now sidelined with a broken leg. When Isak was getting up to speed, Ekitike delivered impressive displays and scored important goals in wins over Newcastle United, Everton and Tottenham Hotspur.
While some feel Ekitike has surpassed expectations, Slot does not concur. The Liverpool boss said last month: “His ability to score, his technique, his speed, all these things, that's just what he has, so no one is surprised to see that. But he improved a lot in terms of how much he runs during a game and how hard he works. That's a big help for the team as well.
"Because people are focused only on goals, but he helps us out now defensively as well and that is also very important for a No.9. In the talks I've had with him, I've probably spoken more about what I expect from him defensively than offensively.
"Before we signed him, he had no problems with that. After we signed him, he sometimes felt like, 'Can we also talk a bit about offence?' But there's not so much to talk about offence with him because that part of his game is very good. Defensively, I'm more and more excited to see what he's doing as well."
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