Anfield got its first glimpse of what the best part of £300m gets you. Quite a lot, it seems. Which, given the numbers involved, it really should. But the Anfield bows of five lavish arrivals offered an insight into Arne Slot’s remodelled Liverpool. The goals came from the old, with Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo scoring to defeat Athletic Club 3-2, the intrigue from the new.
Giorgi Mamardashvili, Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez, Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike made Anfield bows, albeit in an unofficial outing and after each has featured further afield in preseason. Even as the £110m bid for Alexander Isak indicated Liverpool did not necessarily intend their business to stop with those five, it is half a team. Jurgen Klopp called the side he left Liverpool 2.0. Perhaps this is 2.0 for Slot’s Liverpool, significantly different to the title-winning outfit.
A blistering first quarter of an hour offered the most encouragement and hints of a shift in style. Liverpool could be quicker than last season. They weren’t exactly slow then. The statistics for goals from fast breaks may need to be amended to denote those from very fast breaks. The challenge may be to lure opponents sufficiently far forward to open up the space to burst forward at pace. “Florian has a lot of creativity in the final third,” said Slot. “He brings that. We’ve added a few, in my opinion, extra weapons. The pace of Hugo, the pace of both full-backs, Milos and Jeremie.”
If Ekitike was quick to make an impression, it is because of his most obvious attribute. Defenders may find themselves gasping for breath when he turns on the afterburners. With searing speed, the £69m forward set up Salah’s opener. It might prove a profitable combination and, while the Frenchman’s 22 goals for Eintracht Frankfurt last season formed part of his appeal, he also recorded 12 assists. “Definitely he is going to be a very good player for us,” added Slot.
Ekitike was explosive, Wirtz elusive. The £100m man can have an expensive anonymity and then a sudden a prominence. The German has the capacity to ghost into space and materialise in the penalty box. It yielded two early chances and indicated that Wirtz is likelier to be a goalscoring No 10 than Dominik Szoboszlai, relocated into a deeper role.
Sleek and skilful, Ekitike may be a more stylish antidote to Darwin Nunez, for whom the first of a double header with Athletic could prove an Anfield farewell if either AC Milan or Al-Hilal turn their interest into a bid.
Ekitike played 56 minutes, going off to choruses of his first name. He sometimes wandered over to the left, though the question of where Isak may fit in could remain hypothetical or suddenly become particularly pertinent to Slot. There were points where Liverpool’s formation resembled a lopsided 4-2-2-2. Salah was often in the inside-right channel; Frimpong may play outside him and, for now, there may be one full-back operating wider and deeper than the other, with Kerkez tucked in at times and more reserved in his positioning.
The fifth newcomer made a couple of fine late saves but after conceding twice. Mamardashvili is likely to be on the bench for the Community Shield, with Alisson expected to return. He was beaten before he had a meaningful save to make after a clinical equaliser from Oihan Sancet. Then Maroan Sannadi’s near-post header deflected off Gakpo and flashed past the Georgian; minus Virgil van Dijk, Liverpool had less height at the back. The captain was ill, Joe Gomez injured and Liverpool fielded Wataru Endo alongside Ibrahima Konate. It was a reminder that, for all the talk of Isak, the addition they require most is a fourth specialist centre-back to replace Jarell Quansah,
Konate nevertheless showed evidence of their ambition, trying to score with a bicycle kick. Predictably, he didn’t succeed. A more regular goalscorer provided less memorable goals. Gakpo tucked in the rebound after Ryan Gravenberch’s shot was parried by Unai Simon and then squeezed a shot under the Spain international. Salah chipped a penalty into the Kop as standards slipped towards the end.
The opening game had brought a 4-1 win and featured a star turn from 16-year-old Rio Ngumoha, whose precocity suggests that, despite Luis Diaz’s departure, Liverpool do not need to buy a winger. As it is, they have spent a lot already. The remaining issue is whether they spend more, and on which players.
