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 from 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.
