ESPN pundit claims Liverpool player would have every right to be ‘upset’ with Arne Slot on Sunday | OneFootball

One Liverpool player would’ve had every right to be ‘very upset’ with Arne Slot on Sunday, despite the Reds returning to winning ways.

That’s according to Frank Leboeuf, who was quite outspoken about the head coach’s decision to select Alexander Isak ahead of Hugo Ekitike at centre-forward for the 2-0 victory over West Ham, in which the Swedish marksman scored his first Premier League goal for the Merseysiders.

The 26-year-old made way for his French teammate midway through the second half, but the ex-Chelsea defender felt that his compatriot was given a raw deal by dropping to the substitutes’ bench for the game at the London Stadium.

Leboeuf claims Ekitike should’ve started over Isak

Leboeuf was scathing of Isak’s overall performance despite opening the scoring and felt that Ekitike would be entitled to feel scorned about not starting against the Irons.

The 1998 World Cup winner told ESPN FC: “Even if Isak scored a goal, for one hour he was appalling for me. If I am Ekitike, my fellow [French] compatriot, I would be very upset because, when he came on, we saw the difference with his involvement, his technique, what he does for the team and the chances he can create.

“I would be very upset because, ‘OK, my price tag is less than Isak but my performances are better’. Isak scored – good, that saves his performance – but that wasn’t enough. It was funny to see him being very surprised to be substituted. It was only fair to Ekitike.”

(Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

Slot will need every Liverpool player to contribute amid hectic period

While we agree with Leboeuf’s assertion that Ekitike was typically lively after coming on yesterday and has had much more of an impact than Isak at Liverpool so far, we’re rather surprised by his withering assessment of the Swede’s performance.

It’s true that goals can sometimes mask an otherwise quiet display, but the Reds’ number 9 was much more involved against West Ham than he had been in previous games, testing Alphonse Areola with an acrobatic first-half effort and linking up much better with his teammates.

The former Chelsea defender would be wise to consider that the Merseysiders are in the midst of a quickfire burst of four matches in 10 days and that Slot is sure to rotate his squad significantly between the fixtures against Sunderland, Leeds and Inter Milan.

Just because Ekitike didn’t start on Sunday doesn’t mean that he’ll be left out for the next three games, and the Liverpool head coach will be careful and considered with the changes that he makes for those matches and how he relays that to players who are being omitted from the starting XI.

At such a busy time in the Reds’ season, every single player who’s available will be counted upon to contribute to the collective effort, and we don’t doubt that the 23-year-old would’ve understood the decision from his boss to give Isak some much-needed game-time against West Ham.

You can watch Slot’s full post-West Ham press conference via Empire of the Kop on YouTube: