'Really clever': Wayne Rooney raves about 'fantastic' Liverpool player after watching him vs Everton
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Liverpool often have to work harder than most to earn praise from former Manchester United and Everton superstar Wayne Rooney.
Having starred for the Reds’ two closest rivals, Rooney is not exactly the biggest fan of Arne Slot’s team.
Nevertheless, even he has had to praise Liverpool following their perfect start to the Premier League season.
Slot’s side sit five points clear at the top of the Premier League table having squeezed to victory against Everton on Saturday.
It was not a perfect performance from Liverpool, but goals from Ryan Gravenberch and Hugo Ekitike were enough to see off the Blues.
And although his allegiances are firmly on the other side of the Merseyside Derby, Rooney found it within himself to praise Ekitike for a ‘fantastic’ finish to win the game for Liverpool.
Photo by DARREN STAPLES/AFP via Getty Images
Ekitike has had a really good start to life at Liverpool, and a goal in the Merseyside Derby confirms his status as a new hero on the Kop.
Following the game, Ekitike delighted in hearing supporters chant his name, and if he continues in this kind of vein, there’ll be much more of that to come.
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Speaking on BBC Match of the Day on Saturday night, Rooney praised the clever movement of the Frenchman in the build-up to his goal, as well as the clinical nature of his finish.
“Ekitike is a good player, he’s really clever here,” said the former England international.
“He can see that Mykolenko is deeper, he knows he can stay in behind Michael Keane, he can’t get back, Tarkowski isn’t quick enough, it allows Ekitike to get his shot off and it’s a fantastic finish.”
“Ekitike dropped into these lovely little pockets,” added former Liverpool man Danny Murphy.
He’s different to Isak.”
It will be fascinating to see how Slot continues to use Ekitike and Isak as the big-money Swede continues to get up to pace.
The two are yet to play together for Liverpool, but there is a feeling that they should both be part of the Reds’ best XI moving forward.
It may be a little while before we see that, though, with Slot wisely drip-feeding minutes to Isak in an effort to get him fully ready.
Tuesday’s Carabao Cup tie with Southampton looks like a good one to give the No.
9 another start, with Ekitike likely to come off the bench later in the game.
From there, the Frenchman will probably get the nod against Crystal Palace next weekend in a bid to continue his fine start.