Arne Slot dropped Alexander Isak to the bench in favour of Hugo Ekitike when Liverpool faced off with PSV in the Champions League.
This past weekend saw the Swede make his long-awaited return from injury against Nottingham Forest.
However, Isak had little impact in the defeat, and it came as little surprise to see the striker lose his place against PSV.
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Virgil van Dijk made a big error early in the tie, but after the Dutchman cost Liverpool a goal, Arne Slot’s men looked much improved and began to apply heavy pressure before eventually getting a goal back via Dominik Szoboszlai.
While Szoboszlai scored the equaliser and was among the Reds’ better performers on the night, Hugo Ekitike was also in top form.
Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP via Getty ImagesLiverpool fans urge Arne Slot to start Hugo Ekitike over Alexander Isak
The Frenchman’s off-ball movement and ability to link the attacking play was light years ahead of what we saw from Isak against Forest.
In turn, fans have now flooded social media to express their views that Ekitike should be their main number nine going forward.
One fan stated: “How can Slot look at this and think he has to start Isak to ‘get fit’. You earn your place in training. Ekitike has been electric and deserves to be our starting striker.”
A second wrote: “Ekitike is astronomically clear of Isak,” with a third claiming: “Ekitike should be starting over Isak.”
“Hate this or not, Ekitike is a better footballer than Isak. What a bargain he should be starting instead of Isak,” added another Liverpool fan.
A fifth tweeted: “Also, Ekitike is head and shoulders above Isak,” while another echoed: “They have to find a way to facilitate Ekitike, Wirtz and Isak. If that’s not possible, you start with Ekitike and build around him because currently he’s streets ahead!”
How Arne Slot plans to play Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak together
While fans want the former Eintracht Frankfurt centre-forward to lead the line going forward, there is no way Isak will just be left on the bench.
He is the new British transfer record, and though it probably shouldn’t, that alone means Slot has to play him regularly.
The Liverpool manager has already explained how Isak and Ekitike could play together, suggesting the latter could be used out wide or in a deeper role.
He said: “Hugo could also play off the left in my opinion or maybe around Alex where Alex is more of a out and out, is I think the way you say it, out and out nine.
“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.”
There may be one issue with that plan, however, as Ekitike was poor for France in a recent international fixture when deployed on the left wing.
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