Ekitike happy to partner Isak in Liverpool attack

Liverpool forward Hugo Ekitike said he can learn from teammate Alexander Isak and is confident he can play alongside the Sweden international.

Ekitike joined the Premier League champions from Eintracht Frankfurt in July and has four goals in seven games this season, while Isak arrived in a British-record deal from Newcastle United on transfer deadline day.

Outside the club, there has been a lot of debate about how head coach Arne Slot will manage the two players, but Ekitike said such competition is to be expected at a team of Liverpool’s stature.

“We play at such a big club,” the France international said. “They cannot have only one striker, so it is good he is here. I still have a lot of things to improve and learn. That is for the coach to decide who plays, it’s not up to me. I played with two strikers before and one striker, so I can do a lot of things, so if we have to play together, I can do that.”

Despite his fine start to life in a Liverpool shirt, Ekitike left Slot frustrated last week when he was sent off in his team’s 2-1 victory over Southampton in the Carabao Cup. As a result, the 23-year-old missed Saturday’s clash with Crystal Palace — a game that Liverpool lost 2-1.

“It wasn’t smart,” Ekitike said of his red card. “I felt disappointed to watch the boys from home [on Saturday], but I apologised to everyone already. That kind of thing won’t happen again, so I move on and focus on football.”

Liverpool will look to bounce back from the weekend’s defeat when they take on Galatasaray in the Champions League on Tuesday night. However, the Reds will be without forward Federico Chiesa for the game at RAMS Park after he picked up a knock at Selhust Park.

“He got a little niggle in the last game against Palace,” Slot said in his prematch news conference. “He tried it in training today but he couldn’t end the session, so we decided not to take him because in a few days it is Chelsea.”

The Liverpool boss added: “Win, lose or draw, if you want to compete for trophies and wear a Liverpool shirt you have to give your all and play with good football. We conceded so many chances against Palace, so we can improve and those things I will show them tonight to the players.”