Manager says the striker’s performance shows he is adjusting to the demands of English football
Arne Slot believes Hugo Ekitike is adapting more and more to the Premier League after scoring another brace for Liverpool against Brighton on Saturday.
Ekitike struck twice to settle the contest, scoring inside the opening minute before sealing the points with a second-half header.
The goals took the French forward to 10 in all competitions this season and marked his second consecutive league game with a brace, a return that is beginning to justify Liverpool’s £79m summer investment.
The 23-year-old needed just 46 seconds to put Liverpool ahead, volleying home emphatically to give the hosts early control. Brighton resisted for long spells but were undone again when Ekitike met a Mohamed Salah corner to double the lead and close out the match.
Slot said the performance showed the striker was already adjusting to the demands of English football.
“Just before I took him off there was a moment, I don’t know what happened, but I think he hardly could walk anymore because of cramp,” Slot said. “What I see with him and I see this with all the players we’ve brought in this summer, they had to adapt to the Premier League, to that intensity, because they were all young.
“So, adapting to the Premier League, that intensity, some of them had to adapt to the Premier League and [the] Champions League. I see all of them making progress in that.”
Slot said there were clear signs that Ekitike was becoming more and more able to handle an increased workload.
“So, Hugo has cramp today but I can assure you that he did probably twice as much as in games in the beginning of the season where I had to take him off with cramp as well,” Slot said. “That is what this league brings.
“If you cannot be so intense for such a long time, it’s so hard to win a game of football because the best players, athletes, in the world play in this league. We are trying to prepare them more and more, better and better for that – and I can see that progress with most of our signings, maybe all of them.”
