1 week ago
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Liverpool forward Hugo Ekitike has named his current top three strikers and wingers in world soccer — with new teammate Mohamed Salah making the list alongside some other huge stars.
Ekitike has made a very fast start to life in the Premier League, impressing when he has been given the chance by Arne Slot. He already has scored five competitive goals for his new side, including three in seven appearances in the English top flight.
When asked to name the best strikers in the world right now by ESPN, Ekitike had little hesitation as he replied: "[Erling] Haaland, [Kylian] Mbappe and [Robert] Lewandowski."
Ekitike then turned to the wingers, responding: "[Lamine] Yamal, [Mohamed] Salah and [Michael] Olise." About Bayern Munich's Olise, he added: "He's mad."
On Wednesday, Ekitike scored against his former club, Eintracht Frankfurt, in the Champions League and played well for Liverpool. With Alexander Isak picking up a groin injury, he is even more likely to keep his place against Brentford on Saturday.
"The first goal we scored was special," Slot said in his post-match press conference. "You could see his pace in a moment like that.
"These were also moments we were also hoping for. Like I said before the game, we were able in the last few weeks to create many, many, many chances but unfortunately we were not always able to score them.
"Today with Alex and Hugo, I brought two players on the pitch who are usually able to score goals. Alex was close a few times but had to go off at half-time and that's the difficult balance we were having with him.
"When he came, he hardly had trained, so you bring him step by step forward and then you feel there must be a moment where he can play twice a week — he did it with Sweden as well.
"But the first time we tried he had to go off and let's hope it is not that bad. He had to come off because he felt his groin.
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"Many people told me they wanted me to play him more and we had to find the balance and unfortunately that balance didn't work out for us today perfectly.
"Let's hope for the best. Both of them did what I was hoping for, making runs in behind, making sure they were a big threat and both of them did well."
Liverpool.com says: Ekitike has been really impressive in the early parts of his Liverpool career. He has settled in straight away and seems perfectly suited to the demands of playing for Slot.
The Frenchman is young enough to get even better but most assumed he would look much more raw than he has up to now. Ekitike, right now, should be ahead of Isak in the pecking order.
English (US) ·