Pundit says ‘clever’ Liverpool player has been way better than he expected this season

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Liverpool have been one of the best-performing teams in England this season.

The Reds have won all but one of their games across all competitions this term, with their only loss coming against Crystal Palace in the Community Shield final.

At the moment, Arne Slot’s men have 15 points to their name in the Premier League and, even though they managed to get past Southampton in a 2-1 win, it was a lot harder than it should have been.

Many expected the Reds to easily beat the Saints on Tuesday evening, but instead, it took until an 85th-minute strike from Hugo Ekitike to get the win over the line.

And, even though the Frenchman scored the winning goal, his red card dominated the headlines.

Although Tuesday’s game wasn’t Ekitike’s best performance of his Liverpool career, the striker has certainly been a bright spark in the Anfield camp this term.

Nigel Reo-Coker admits that Hugo Ekitike has been better than he expected for Liverpool this season

One of Liverpool’s best signings of their summer transfer window was Ekitike.

The Frenchman was wanted by several clubs, including Manchester United and Newcastle, but, in the end, he chose to take the next step in his career with the Merseyside outfit.

Of course, when he signed the contract, Isak wasn’t even a Liverpool player, so the thought of being the Reds’ only natural striker may have swayed him to make that decision.

However, since Isak isn’t fully fit yet, he’s been able to prove his worth to Slot with former West Ham United man Nigel Reo-Coker admitting that Ekitike has done much better than he expected him to this term.

“It’s a tough fixture because they’re going to play a Crystal Palace side that’s not going to be no rollover,” Reo-Coker said.

“They’re going to be very hard to beat and Ekitike has started great at Liverpool so far, scoring goals, doing everything that we probably expected.

“[In fact] he’s probably exceeded expectations by most people for how he’s started because Isak was the man.

“But to do that [get red carded], to make it about yourself, pulling your shirt, it was unnecessary.

“It will probably make Arne Slot look at him to say ‘I can trust you to a certain degree,’ but he’ll have to reevaluate how much he can trust you as a player because you’ve got the experience, there’s no need after a silly booking.”

Federico Chiesa could be handed a start against Crystal Palace

Now that Ekitike is set to miss Liverpool’s upcoming Premier League clash against Crystal Palace, Slot has some decisions to make.

On Tuesday, both Isak and Ekitike played 45 minutes each, which means that the Sweden international is likely to feature at some point in the game.

Whether that’ll be from the start or with half an hour to go is another question, but after the performance that Federico Chiesa put in against Southampton, it feels like the Italian has earned a place in Slot’s thoughts.

The former Juventus man can play anywhere across the front three, but his performance as a nine on Tuesday was mesmerising to watch.

And, even though Ekitike has been dubbed “clever” by Wayne Rooney, it’s clear that Chiesa still has a lot to offer the Anfield outfit.

At the moment, it’s anyone’s guess what could happen, but with Ekitike suspended for the game against the Eagles, it could be Chiesa’s time to shine once again.