Rio Ferdinand moans about Liverpool pair as Man Utd icon left fearing Reds

Hugo Ekitike and Florian Wirtz's partnership is beginning to blossom at Liverpool, which is leaving former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand more than a little worried

Rio Ferdinand has bemoaned the form of two of Liverpool's players(Image: Rio Ferdinand Presents)

Rio Ferdinand has been left worried by Hugo Ekitike and Florian Wirtz’s recent form as the Liverpool duo begin to show their class.

The pair have impressed with their growing relationship on the pitch in recent games, having linked-up with each other once again in Saturday’s win over Newcastle.

Wirtz and Ekitike have been drawing comparisons with Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres after the former set the latter up for another goal at the weekend, helping the Reds to their first win in five league games as they try to beat Manchester United and Chelsea to a place in the top four.

Liverpool currently sits two points behind United, with Michael Carrick’s side occupying fourth after three straight wins, although former Red Devils defender Ferdinand is starting to get a little worried about the Reds’ in-form duo.

“I’ll tell you what I’m not laughing at,” he said on the latest episode of Rio Ferdinand Presents.

“I’ll tell you what I’m not laughing at is how good is Ekitike? And Wirtz is starting to cook a little bit as well. Yeah, I’m not happy about that.”

Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike have impressed for Liverpool recently(Image: Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP via Getty Images)

Wirtz and Ekitike’s growing partnership is proving to be a huge boost to Liverpool amid what has been a disappointing season so far for the Reds.

The former in particular is beginning to show the sort of form many had expected after his record-breaking move from Bayer Leverkusen, having struggled early on in his time at Anfield.

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher sees the pair as a beacon of hope for Reds fans this season, while Arne Slot has hailed their growth as the campaign has gone on.

“For me, as a manager, I see throughout the last six or seven months improvement but lately a lot of improvement in terms of work-rate off the ball — not even work rate, but the ability to keep on going off the ball, especially with Hugo and Florian,” Slot said.

"They’ve improved in the last seven or eight months but now I think everyone can see that improvement as well. The more we have the ball they can show how special they, and all the ones who won the league here, are together.

"Unfortunately, that took a bit of time because that is how high the intensity levels of the Premier League are."