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

For the first time in almost 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.

You won’t be surprised to hear that it was Ekitike (8.93) which received the highest average rating, with the Frenchman’s goals and work on the ball catching the eye.

TIA’s James Nalton said it best when he assessed that Ekitike “just plays like a Liverpool striker”, as the EchoTheo Squires of Theo called him ‘a constant threat’.

Curtis Jones (7.9) and Florian Wirtz (7.9) were equally impressive, with the duo unleashing the best in each other and the midfield starting to click.

Wirtz ‘had great fun bursting through the Brighton defence’, especially in the first half in front of Squires, while Nalton judged Jones ‘setting the tone for the early goal’.

They were the Reds’ top three, but at the other end of the table was Alexis Mac Allister (6.0)which GOAL’s Gill Clark simply surmised was “not quite his day”.

What the statistics say

Statistically speaking, from our friends of FotMobwe can see that it was Ekitike who achieved the highest rating (9.2).

The Frenchman had the most shots by some distance (seven), had the most touches in the penalty area (11) and had a dribble completion rate of 100 percent (4/4).

Although only two of his shots were on target, they proved the difference for Liverpool and it is also worth noting that he was strong in the challenge, winning seven of his nine matches.

A word of mention also deserves Wirtz, who won nine of his twelve matches – behind only Ibrahima Konate (10/12) – and completed the most recoveries of all field players (nine).

His physicality has certainly improved and as a result his game will only grow as the months go by.

Mac Allister, meanwhile, was the only player to score under seven out of 10.

* Every matchday on FotMob you can find all the live scores and in-depth stats you never knew you needed. Download the FotMob app here.