Our Liverpool FC Jury have assembled to discuss the week's goings on at Anfield, where there's one star name on everyone's lips
Hugo Ekitike has become a Liverpool hero
Hugo Ekitike has become a Liverpool hero(Image: Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
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It has been a quiet week for Liverpool, giving fans ample time to reflect on last Saturday's terrific 4-1 win over Newcastle United.
In what was perhaps the Reds' best Premier League performance of the season, they roared back from a goal down to dismiss the visitors, with Hugo Ekitike's brace just before half-time catching the eye.
The Frenchman is now up to 15 goals in his maiden season in English football, and his form has made him the new darling of the Kop at a time when Liverpool have needed a new hero to step forward.
He's certainly impressed our Jury, who have assembled to discuss Reds matters over the past seven days.
Andrew Cullen
Sometimes you feel that in certain moments, in certain games, that you have a player of real quality, a player who is going to be remembered. High praise indeed, but Ekitike’s two goal brace in front of a roaring Anfield felt special.
It felt like a stage introduction to a glittering new star. We have seen several instances of real quality from Ekitike this season, of course, but the magic we saw against Newcastle is what star players bring you: you can be struggling in a game, but in a moment, in a flick of a ball, the game is transformed. It was this formula that was critical to our success last year- how often did Salah bag goals to ease fan angst, or shift a game? As one star fades, another radiates.
Most fans wanted reinforcements in January, but we are going to have to wait. It does leave us walking the rest of the season on a rickety, shaking bridge, though. If Konate or Virgil got injured, we would be in a very precarious position, a position which would make it very difficult to progress in Europe, which is now our only opportunity to salvage what has been a difficult season to stomach given the heights we scaled last year.
The modern game demands quick, strong, and athletic players, especially in the Premier League. I have seen very little of Liverpool’s new acquisition, Jacquet, but on the eye test, he looks to tick the above criteria, and his profile seems to match our proven tested formula of young, talented, and hungry players.
After a mini-renaissance in the Premier League, what can we manage to conjure against City at the weekend? With a full week of recovery, passion, energy, and fight are irreducible minimums.
James Noble
Connectivity and perspective have felt prominent for LFC over the last week.
Saturday night’s 4-1 win over Newcastle United came with a pleasingly collective verve. Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitiké dazzled, delivering moments that both echoed yesteryear and gave us good reason to look ahead excitedly.
Monday’s confirmation that 20-year-old Stade Rennais centre-back Jérémy Jacquet will join Liverpool in the summer offers further long-term encouragement. Meanwhile, the release on club platforms of an interview with Arne Slot, Richard Hughes and Billy Hogan provided some productive insights.
Saturday was also an evening that, heartwarmingly, started with supporters of both clubs affectionately acknowledging Kevin Keegan, who contributed so much to each, following his recent cancer diagnosis. And it concluded with a visibly emotional Ibrahima Konaté capping a superb return to action, after the death of his father, with a goal that brought touching reactions from teammates. Perspective in spades.
Manchester City, another of Keegan’s former clubs, are the next intriguing Anfield opponents on Sunday. It starts a busy week, with a testing trip to Sunderland following on Wednesday and Brighton and Hove Albion visiting in the FA Cup next Saturday.
That schedule, in itself, hints at the value of not orienting perceptions around single matches to too great an extent. This weekend, though, does feel like an excellent chance to assess, and enhance, our progress and that connectivity.