The former Match of the Day host was highly impressed by Liverpool star Hugo Ekitike.
When Hugo Ekitike flipped Liverpool’s fortunes on its head, there was sheer ecstasy among the home faithful. Newcastle United supporters located in the Anfield Road End might have been in disbelief.
For the majority of the first half of the Premier League encounter, the Reds had been listless. Newcastle had applied the pressure and deservedly took the lead through Anthony Gordon. But within a three-minute period, Liverpool were ahead.
Ekitike’s goal to equalise was superb. Florian Wirtz danced his way beyond a few Magpies defenders before pulling a ball for Ekitike to finish. Two minutes later, the quality that the France international displayed drew comparisons to one of Liverpool’s greatest strikers in the club’s history.
Ekitike’s goal was swiftly compared to a prime Fernando Torres. The effort was akin to the Spaniard’s debut goal against Chelsea in 2007. Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard was among those who made that observation.
“It's Torres-like. He just gets it out of his feet and it's that toe poke,” said Gerrard on TNT Sports. “He reminds me of Torres, this player, every time I watch him. He's scoring similar types of goals, where if you give him space in the channel, he'll run it, he's too quick, you can't catch him and he's deadly.”
However, it was not Torres that Liverpool boss Slot was reminded of when watching Ekitike apply such a clinical finish. Instead, the Reds chief felt it was reminiscent of Brazil legend Romario. Speaking to beIN Sports, Slot said: “The first one was really nice to watch because it was a great combination between Florian Wirtz and Hugo. The second one was more open because we took a goal kick really fast.
“You can see how much pace Hugo has in a one-v-one. If it's open enough, he can use that pace. The finish, for me, but I come from a different era that Hugo comes from but he played in Holland; Romario, who also played at PSV [Eindhoven] and Barcelona. [Hugo] will probably not even know who he is but a great finish and the second half, we played the game we wanted and had more than enough chances to score goals.”
Slot wasn’t the only one who felt Ekitike’s finish was Romario-esque. Former Barcelona striker Gary Lineker said on The Rest Is Football podcast: “I mean the brilliance of Ekitike and Wirtz. I thought particularly, Ekitike, I mean, it hurts even more because Newcastle were in for him obviously, as you know, in the summer.
“But he chose to go to Liverpool, which I get, and that’s fine. But he was the difference. The second goal was world-class, it was a good old fashioned like toe-poke, wasn’t it, when he went down on the left and then toe-poked it with his right foot. Romario-like, remember? Loved a toe-poke. What a strike.”
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