Hugo Ekitike “just plays like a Liverpool striker” – as 2 others also shine

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There was a clear and obvious man of the match for Liverpool in their 2-0 win against Brighton, though he was not the only player to score highly at Anfield. For the first time in nearly six weeks, Liverpool celebrated a win and a clean sheet at Anfield, with Hugo Ekitike‘s brace proving the difference for a much-needed three points.

Here we compare our player ratings with those of the Liverpool Echo, GOAL and This Is Anfield’s readers. TIA’s James Nalton said it best when he adjudged that Ekitike “just plays like a Liverpool striker,” as the Echo‘s Theo Squires labelled him “a constant threat.” Curtis Jones (7.9) and Florian Wirtz (7.9) were just as impressive, with the duo unlocking the best in one another to see the midfield start to click.

Wirtz “had great joy skipping through the Brighton defence,” particularly in the first half in the eyes of Squires, while Nalton assessed that Jones “set the tone ahead of the early goal.” They were the Reds’ three top performers, but at the other end of the table was Alexis Mac Allister (6.0), who GOAL’s Gill Clark simply surmised was “not quite his day.” What the stats say Statistically, from our friends at FotMob, we can see it was Ekitike who achieved the highest rating (9.2). While only two of his shots were on target, they proved the difference for Liverpool and it is also worth noting he was strong in the challenge, winning seven of his nine duels.