The brave Hugo Ekitike choice Liverpool must make | OneFootball

It is hard to call a £79m summer signing the forgotten forward, even as a fraction of a £450m spending spree. Yet there are times when Hugo Ekitike has been Liverpool’s overlooked attacker. He feels destined to be overshadowed, and the one time he grabbed the limelight was for a silly sending off.

His goals, though, tend to be demoted to the status of subplots. Consider the last two Saturdays. Ekitike has scored successive doubles, becoming the youngest Liverpool player to net twice in consecutive Premier League matches since Michael Owen in 2001. And yet each occasion has ended up being about Mohamed Salah – after his interview at Elland Road and his reintegration against Brighton.

The first, arguably, started to revolve around others when Leeds mounted a comeback following Ekitike’s brace. First, Anton Stach’s goal seemed the most important of the game, then Dominik Szoboszlai’s, to restore Liverpool’s lead, and finally Ao Tanaka’s 96th-minute equaliser.

It conformed to a trend. Ekitike’s season started with three goals in as many games, each the precursor to further drama. His fourth-minute opener in the Community Shield final represented a flying start to his Liverpool career, but they lost to Crystal Palace on penalties. He scored the first goal of the Premier League campaign but it required Federico Chiesa’s cameo to beat Bournemouth and Salah had the last say. Then came an extraordinary game at Newcastle, where Ekitike’s goal lacked the astonishing element of the 16-year-old Rio Ngumoha’s 100th-minute winner.

Perhaps it rendered slightly more understandable Ekitike’s seeking of the spotlight after his Carabao Cup winner against Southampton: removing his shirt to brandish it when already on a yellow card was, in the words of Liverpool coach Arne Slot, “stupid” and “needless”.

And yet Ekitike has occupied a strange position this season. The most expensive second-choice striker in the Premier League has looked the best. But then he has also appeared much the finest centre-forward at Anfield, often while being sacrificed on the altar of Alexander Isak.

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Ekitike has been quietly effective for Liverpool this season (AFP/Getty)

Even when a third of his league appearances have come off the bench – and he missed a further match due to the suspension incurred against Southampton – only Erling Haaland and, more surprisingly, Igor Thiago currently have more Premier League goals than the Frenchman. Of those who have struck at least six times, only the Manchester City and Brentford men better his return of 0.72 goals per 90 minutes. And, unlike him, they are on penalty duty.

Ekitike averages a goal every 124 minutes in the Premier League; Isak one – and he only has one – every 493. No wonder, perhaps, that there is a distinct difference in the results when each begins. They have won seven of 10 league matches with the cheaper forward collecting 22 points. With the £125m man, they have won just one of six, getting a meagre tally of four points.

It has usually been a choice between them, but only one of Ekitike’s goals, at Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League, has come with Isak on the pitch. They have started twice together: in Germany, when Isak was injured, and against Inter Milan, when the Swede was ineffective.

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Isak has been largely ineffective since his move to Liverpool (Reuters)

Some of it is a question of sharpness. A few weeks ago, Slot noted that Isak had made only one sprint over 30 kmph. Ekitike, according to Opta, made 25 high-intensity runs against Brighton alone. Yet in the quest to get Isak up to speed, both Ekitike and Liverpool have suffered.

In every metric, Ekitike has been significantly superior. In the Premier League, he averages 3.11 shots per 90 minutes, to Isak’s 2.57, and 0.93 on target to 0.55, with an xG of 0.44 to 0.37; Ekitike is overperforming his expected goals, Isak underperforming his. The Frenchman is far more involved, averaging 34.1 touches per 90 minutes to the Swede’s 22.8. He touches the ball more everywhere: in his own final third, and the opposition’s, and the middle third, and the penalty area.

All of which could arguably change if Isak is ever completely fit and rediscovers his Newcastle form. Which, maybe, could come in combination with Ekitike. Their two starts together have come in more of a regulation 4-4-2, at Frankfurt, and with a diamond midfield, in Milan.

Without Cody Gakpo and Salah for the next few weeks, and lacking wingers, there are reasons to attempt such a shape again.

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Isak and Ekitike could play up front together over the next few weeks (Action Images/Reuters)

Ekitike’s past includes a successful strike partnership with Omar Marmoush in Germany. And yet, against both Leeds and Brighton, he flourished as a lone front-runner. He played 160 minutes in those two games, yet still had 12 shots.

If Salah’s demotion to a substitute is an indication that Slot has had to rethink his attacking plans so far this season, Ekitike is presenting a case for a second change of mind.

Isak’s price tag has brought him preferential treatment, even as Ekitike’s performances have been considerably superior. Yet with each goal comes increasing evidence that the supposed deluxe deputy has to be the first in line to lead the line.