11 hours ago
3
Hugo Ekitike made his first senior international start on Friday night as he lined up alongside Kylian Mbappe in France's win over Azerbaijan.
The young striker has probably been the most impressive of all of Liverpool's summer signings, and his start at the Parc des Princes was just reward for his promising showings for the Reds.
Mbappe opened the scoring from an Ekitike assist during first-half stoppage time, before second-half goals from Adrien Rabiot and Florian Thauvin secured a 3-0 win.
Donning the No.9 jersey, Ekitike was slow to get into the game but improved after the break. Eurosport handed Mbappe a 5.5/10 in its player ratings from the game, writing: "He disappeared during the first half-hour, giving in to a kind of ease.
"Sluggish in his interventions, he was set to have a difficult evening at the Parc. But he initially served as an intelligent relay for the opening goal before coming out of his shell in the second half.
"His oriented controls completely disoriented the opposing defense and it took the post to stop him from driving the nail in. Generally enterprising, he made a gross error on a counterattack where his run lost Mbappe."
"In short... A successful first start, although not brilliant."
Le Parisien, meanwhile, said Ekitike produced "rare flashes." Also handing him a 5.5/10, Le Parisien journalist Benjamin Quarez wrote: "The Blues initially struggled to get a hold of him, before he gradually raised his game. He opened up a good path to goal, combined for Mbappe's goal and hit the post with a cross shot that was well underway."
Get French Football News handed Ekitike a 6/10, saying: Quiet for large periods of the first half, the Liverpool forward struggled to get involved but was nonetheless a focal point. He also managed an assist, even if almost all credit must go to Mbappé for the run and the finish. France needed someone to accelerate the play in the second half, and he did that, nearly netting his first goal for Les Bleus."
English (US) ·