Arne Slot says there is no headache after Ekitike outshines Isak In Merseyside derby

Liverpool boss Arne Slot says he does not have a selection headache after Hugo Ekitike scored the winner in the Merseyside derby at Alexander Isak’s expense.

The £125million summer signing from Newcastle was relegated to the bench against Everton, being handed a short cameo in the closing stages of the game.

His place was taken by Ekitike, who grabbed the second goal of the afternoon after Ryan Gravenberch had put the home side ahead after 10 minutes.

The performance of both players raised questions on who will be the starting striker under Slot, as Liverpool moved to five wins from five in the Premier League.

Speaking after the match, he said: “There’s no headache at all. These two players are very happy we have them both.

“Both of them know it’s very hard for them to play three times 90. Hugo is 21, 22 and comes to a new intensity league.

“You can see the ones who are used to that – Virgil, Ryan, Mo. But for the new ones you can see that’s harder.

“The first half performance. We always knew how difficult it was going to be, three games in seven days, early kickoff on Saturday.

“You can also see how much impact this has. The first half when we were fresh, unbelievable in how we played. The second half, you have to give credit to Everton but you could see we were [losing energy].”

Grateful for Gravenberch

Slot could not finish his press conference without heaping praise on Gravenberch, who also provided the assist for the eventual winner.

Asked on whether he is continuing to improve, he said: “If I say better that would mean there was room for improvement last season.

“Both goals we targeted the same area where we had players with higher pace to come into those situations.”