Fewer touches than Alisson: Slot must boldly drop 6/10 Liverpool star
Liverpool staved off the Everton threat to maintain their perfect record in the Premier League, winning the Merseyside derby
And Everton really did threaten. Liverpool blew their city rivals out of the park in the first half, romping to a two-goal lead thanks to fine strikes from Ryan Gravenberch and Hugo Ekitike, but haven’t looked convincing when defending a lead this term, and Idrissa Gueye’s powerful finish set the nerves jangling.
These two were the stars of the show, and it’s curious that the latter should have started his Liverpool career on such strong footing, as he looks undroppable right now.
Liverpool haven’t been at their best so far this season by any stretch, but then they have stormed into a perfect lead at the top of the league table, and they won their Champions League opener against Atletico Madrid too.
With players like Ekitike packing a new punch to the squad, there’s plenty reason to be optimistic for the term ahead.
Hugo Ekitike's start to life at Liverpool
When Liverpool announced the initial £69m signing of Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt last summer, it looked for all the world like FSG had closed the door on an ambitious effort for Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak.
But that hasn’t been the case, with the goalscoring duo united under Arne Slot’s wing at Anfield. The 25-year-old Isak is billed as the more refined and accomplished, having ripped the Premier League apart at the seams over the past several years with the Magpies and joined the club for a British record fee, but four goals and an assist for the Reds mark a rather fruitful start for Ekitike.
(GK) Alisson Becker
6/10
(RB) Conor Bradley
6/10
(CB) Ibrahima Konate
8/10
(CB) Virgil van Dijk
7/10
(LB) Milos Kerkez
6.5/10
(CM) Ryan Gravenberch
9/10
(CM) Alexis Mac Allister
6/10
(RW) Mohamed Salah
7/10
(AM) Dominik Szoboszlai
7.5/10
(LW) Cody Gakpo
6/10
(ST) Hugo Ekitike
9/10
Isak, who completed his transfer on deadline day, made his league debut for Liverpool against Everton, coming off the bench in the second half.
Last season, he was the villain down Anfield Road after scoring the winning goal in the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool, bagging what proved to be the most important of a 27-strike haul. Now, he is Liverpool’s.
The Swedish superstar will be expected to bring the goals in their droves this term, and Ekitike’s fast start only heightens the noise around the decision to bring both to the fold.
If the plan is to weave the duo into the same starting line-up, one would likely be required to drop onto the left flank. That would appear to be Ekitike, and should that happen, it would come at the expense of Cody Gakpo’s berth, with the Dutchman playing out a quiet game against the Toffees.
Why Slot should drop Cody Gakpo
Gakpo has impressed throughout the opening weeks of the campaign, invariably placed on the left wing and posting a goal and two assists across his first two Premier League outings of the campaign.
However, the well of potency has since dried up, and he toiled somewhat against the resilient Jake O’Brien, albeit winning the ball back in the build-up to Gravenberch’s opening goal.
FFC’s 6/10 match rating for Gakpo was determined after an assessment of what was an indifferent display, but one which also demonstrated the deeper tenacity of his skillset, with data platform Sofascore revealing he won four duels, made three clearances and created two passes across his hour on the field.
Curiously, Gakpo also looked to cut inside when Ekitike drifted wide. The 26-year-old shimmies inside with regularity anyway, but you can’t help but wonder if this is a tactical tweak on Slot’s part.
There were indeed a series of sequences which saw Gakpo and Ekitike move interchangeably. These movements were performed with practised coordination, and that makes a comment on Slot’s orders as Isak warms to life on Merseyside.
Might it be a system in the works to accommodate both Isak and Ekitike in the same starting line-up? The Frenchman’s vast ground-covering display certainly suggests that this could be so, with former goalkeeper Ben Foster remarking during the contest that he “looks like prime Fernando Torres”, so complete and deadly did he look in the final third and around it.
Gakpo, conversely, was quiet, with his 41 touches across the match the fewest of any Liverpool forward starting from the opening whistle. This actually put him behind the shot-stopping Alisson Becker for touches on the afternoon, who might have conceded but didn’t actually have all that much to do, making only one save besides and two punches to deal with aerial threats.
Given that Gakpo has been a fixed feature in the starting XI for Liverpool so far this season, and has perhaps petered out after an electric start, it might be time for Slot to make a change, having already shown a newfound willingness this term to enforce rotation as he hasn’t before, sticking with the same bunch for most of the title-winning 2024/25 campaign.
While a midweek clash against Championship side Southampton, struggling after their relegation from the Premier League, will see the boss ring wholesale changes, there’s a chance next weekend against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park for Ekitike and Isak to be unleashed in a partnership, thus pushing Gakpo to the bench.
This, if anything, is a glowing testament to Liverpool’s strength in depth. And Gakpo, should he be dropped, will pop up with pivotal moments over the year.
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