Alexander Isak vs Hugo Ekitike: Liverpool boss Arne Slot’s nice problem or looming issue? | Football News

Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak were both on target as Liverpool edged Southampton in the Carabao Cup, but after a pointed celebration, has head coach Arne Slot got a nice problem or a headache up front?

Isak opened the scoring at Anfield on Tuesday night to get off the mark following his British-record £125 million deadline day move from Newcastle United – but it was Ekitike who replaced him at half-time and grabbed the winner to send the Reds to the fourth round.

The France forward made sure he took the headlines, taking off his shirt in celebration and holding it aloft – an action that earned him a second yellow card that means he will be suspended for Liverpool’s Premier League clash with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Saturday.

Ekitike’s “stupid” sending-off, as Slot called it, has kicked the issue of who will lead the line down the road, at least for one game, but the Dutchman appears to have plenty of attacking dilemmas.

“Isak causes problems because all the forwards can’t all play,” said Paul Merson of the Swede’s signing.

“Slot will have to mix things up and change things constantly to keep everyone happy and that causes problems. Throw in Isak and that problem gets bigger.”

How costly could Ekitike’s moment of madness be?

Both from a team and a personal perspective, it could be huge.

Liverpool will face an in-form Palace side this weekend that are unbeaten in 17 games in all competitions, a run stretching back to April, so it goes without saying they would have wanted Ekitike available for the trip to south east London.

Sure, the 23-year-old most likely would not have started, but with Isak unable to play for more than an hour in recent weeks as he builds up his fitness, Slot would have definitely have called upon him at some point.

Now the Dutchman will not be able to call upon him from the bench, which explains his post-match frustrations with Ekitike.

“Needless? Yes. And it was stupid,” Slot told Sky Sports. “The first one was already needless and to a certain extent, stupid, as you have got to control your emotions.

“It’s always best to control your emotions. If you can’t, do it in a way that doesn’t lead to a yellow card.”

As for the player himself, he now misses out on a chance to build on his latest impressive goalscoring display – the striker has now contributed an impressive five goals and an assist in just eight games for his new side – at a time when Isak is still working his way back up to full fitness.

“I think it’s the pressure of Isak being there, the noise around it,” Tim Sherwood said on Soccer Special. “He’s letting everyone know that I am here. We know he’s done really well, he’s a real threat. That’s his fifth goal of the season. He can’t do any more than he’s doing. We all know your name!

“There’s absolutely no need to show that. Liverpool fans appreciate what he’s doing. Now he’s not going to play and whether Isak is ready to play or not… Ekitike has let himself down.”

Just how fit is Isak?

This would have been the burning question on every Liverpool supporter’s lips in the immediate aftermath of Ekitike’s red card against the Saints.

When the Sweden striker first teamed up with Liverpool, Slot was quick to emphasise the record signing had, in effect, arriving without a pre-season behind him.

“You have to give him a good base,” said the Reds boss when explaining Isak’s absence from the squad to face Burnley on September 14.

“Because normally in pre-season you train a lot, then you start playing players for 45 minutes. But he didn’t have that base at all for four months, without any team sessions.

“At Sweden they have proper sessions without playing him. We have given him proper sessions. Now he’s ready to play at least 45 minutes.”

Isak then played 58 minutes of Liverpool’s 3-2 win against Atletico Madrid in last Wednesday’s Champions League opener, although that workout meant he was unable to start the Merseyside derby three days later.

“Alex felt his body more than ever before after the 60 minutes he played,” explained Slot, with the striker replacing Ekitike midway through the second half against Everton.

Isak was given another 45-minute run-out against Southampton, with his head coach again revealing he was unable to play an entire match yet.

“That’s the focus [getting him up to speed]. He will not play 90 minutes today, it is too soon for him,” Slot said ahead of kick-off against Southampton, with the player himself also issuing a word of warning in his post-match interview with Sky Sports.

“I’m on my way to getting fit. I feel good but obviously it is early,” he revealed.

During the half-time break at Anfield, Isak stayed out to continue running instead of heading down the tunnel for a team talk, but whether he would have started Saturday’s game at Palace had Ekitike not been sent off we will never know.

Now, he will most definitely be in the defending champions’ line-up, especially with Liverpool having played on Tuesday night and the clash in the capital not kicking off until 3pm on Saturday. But just how long Slot keeps him on the field will be intriguing and no doubt dictated by how the visitors are faring at Selhurst Park.

Can the strike duo actually play together?

When Isak is up to full fitness, though, Slot is going to have either choose one of them to start and lead the line, or utilise both in attack, but would that work and if so, how?

Well, Slot himself certainly thinks so, as he explained ahead of the Merseyside derby.

“I consider [playing both together] because you consider many things, but it depends on how well they are playing – if both in best form of their life you consider it, but also clear we have a 4-3-3 structure and in the end phase we have played with two No 9s.

“Hugo can play off the left, it’s a good thing about our squad, we have multiple options and if some aren’t fit we can use them in a 4-4-2, that depends on form and fitness.”

Former Liverpool captain Jamie Carragher agrees: “Maybe at times you’ll see a front two employed by the manager,” although the last title-winning team to do that was Man Utd in 1999.

Most likely, however, according to Carragher is Isak will now be first choice through the middle and Ekitike will be tasked with either rotating that role with the Swede or battling for a wider position.

During his time in the Bundesliga last season it was notable how Ekitike would slip out into the channels during build-up play to help bring his side into dangerous areas before finding his own way into the box or shooting or assisting from wider areas.

The theme has continued with Liverpool. While he has seen plenty of the ball within the width of the posts, he has also regularly drifted out to the left to combine with the likes of Cody Gakpo and Florian Wirtz.

Isak, meanwhile, averaged a touch in the opposition box almost seven times per game last season – a figure which ranked him among the top seven per cent of strikers in Europe’s top five leagues. It is easy to imagine him seeking out spaces closer to goal while Ekitike and co operate deeper.

Of course, Isak has threat from distance, too – six of his 23 Premier League goals came from outside the box, so some interchanging of position and dovetailing with Ekitike seems certain to be part of the plan.

Is Salah’s decline a factor?

Liverpool had the future in mind as well as the present when they invested a combined £320m on Alexander Isak, Hugo Ekitike and Florian Wirtz in the summer. But has a Mohamed Salah drop-off arrived earlier than anticipated?

The 33-year-old has provided a goal or assist in all but one of Liverpool’s five Premier League games so far this season, the latest being his clipped pass to set up Ryan Gravenberch’s superb opener in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Everton.

But it is hard to escape the feeling that his overall influence has waned. Salah’s touches are only slightly down from last season, from 50 per 90 minutes to 45. But, without Trent Alexander-Arnold supplying his killer passes, he is getting significantly fewer in the box, down from roughly 11 per 90 minutes to just six.

Salah has still managed to contribute a combined four goals and assists. It is also worth noting that, five games in, the sample size remains relatively small. But the sharp decline in his underlying attacking numbers is a worry nonetheless.

Salah’s drop-off increases the need for Slot to extract the maximum from his new attacking recruits to make up the shortfall.

Is Wirtz a help or hindrance?

Liverpool might have more world-class talent than ever before, but how and when each option is used will need to be more of an exact science this season. Slot’s public commitment to make better use of his squad depth is going to undergo the ultimate stress test.

As a primary example: where does Florian Wirtz fit in a system that so obviously favours Ryan Gravenberch as part of a balanced midfield three alongside Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister?

Clearly, the use of Wirtz, who is yet to register a goal contribution beyond an assist in the Community Shield, would disturb the dynamic of a midfield combination that arguably won Liverpool the league last year.

Gravenberch’s exceptional start in a slightly more advanced role, best evidenced by his goal and assist against Everton, only compounds the Wirtz dilemma.

That is not to say the young German does not have things to offer while he adapts to the pace and physicality of the league, but does mean Slot must make concessions to accommodate him. Gravenberch in a deeper function would be one of them.

Slot had smartly identified that the intensity of the rivalry with Everton did not lend itself to a playmaker from the start last weekend – the visitors were at their most dangerous after the introduction of Wirtz in place of Cody Gakpo.

Wirtz is of course a luxury, but needs to start contributing goals to warrant the sacrifice in other areas. It’s worth noting that half of Liverpool’s 14 strikes in the league and Europe so far have actually arrived when the 22-year-old has not been on the pitch.

Problem? What problem?

Despite the noise, having £320m’s worth of attacking talent at his disposal is not a bad problem for Slot to have.

The depth of options with Isak, Ekitike and Wirtz on board is a frightening prospect for Liverpool’s rivals across various competitions.

Throw in Salah, Cody Gakpo, Federico Chiesa and youngster Rio Ngumoha and Slot has a surplus of attacking talent, which could be crucial as we get into the depths of the season.

The Premier League champions played 63 matches last season, and they will want to add more to that tally this campaign by going deep in all four competitions they can win this season.

Having numerous options will help Slot achieve that. There is now also adequate cover for Salah’s absence at the Africa Cup of Nations this winter.

There’s no question that Slot will have selection headaches at times this season, but Liverpool, who are already the top goal scorers in the league with 11 goals from five matches, should have enough games for him to keep both Isak and Ekitike, and all his attacking charges happy.

Liverpool’s next six fixtures

Sept 27: Crystal Palace (a) – Premier League, 3pm

Sept 30: Galatasaray (a) – Champions League, 8pm

Oct 4: Chelsea (a) – Premier League, 5.30pm, live on Sky Sports

Oct 19: Man Utd (h) – Premier League, 4.30pm, live on Sky Sports

Oct 22: Frankfurt (a) – Champions League, 8pm

Oct 25: Brentford (a) – Premier League, 8pm