The Italian Job

You want me to talk about Ekitike, so I’ll start there. Did everyone else get a strong Torres vibe? The way he attacks the ball, uses space, and then the way he moves and his tricks…last time Liverpool had this kind of number nine was when the Spaniard graced Anfield with his presence, and for 18 months that immortalized him as a Liverpool legend, he was simply unstoppable. Ekitike, too, looks ace in the “what matters in the end” department, too, adding a goal and assist on his debut. We can just hope that it isn’t a honeymoon period.

And then, to think that we might be adding Isak as well.

Whee.

Then we need to talk about the rest of our summer additions. Wirtz looked good but still not entirely on the same page as the rest. It’s going to take a while for all of them to gel, and in a way, that same challenge is a key reason one of our established players shined, but we’ll get to him later. The German showed many signs of brilliance, and it promises so much once a few games have been dialed in.

Milos Kerkez is like the Rottweiler that bites and locks his jaw and you just can’t get him off no matter what you do. I love how aggressive he is, but Slot will have to make sure it doesn’t end up costing us more than our fair share of penalties. Combined with his fearless nature, it led to a couple of moments when my heart stopped. But he is definitely as good as Robbo ever was…and lest we forget, Robbo is still there.

Jeremie Frimpong is the tick to Kerkez’s Rottweiler, and I mean it in the nicest way possible; after all, Argentina fans have been calling Messi the flea since he came of footballing age, which was when he was, what, six? Frimpong is so nimble, so fast, so full of energy, and dear gawd, his recovery is downright alien. If you’re facing him, then he’s just constantly harassing you from all directions all the once, jumping from here to there to occasionally taking a ride on your back, like he did on one occasion today. Good luck getting rid of him. Oh, and he’s so attack minded, I can’t wait for him and Salah to develop the kind of partnership they clearly can.

They all looked good in their way, and the team definitely feels like it has more oomph in it than last season, which Arne Slot alluded to in a presser recently. He also pointed out the defensive weaknesses, and here I must say that Slot had his ass saved from his own bad game management. Endo had no business being on the right side, not even for ten minutes, and definitely not when the Cherries were in the ascendance. With Ekitike going out at the same time, it was like Liverpool inviting their guests to take their best shot, which they did with aplomb. Suddenly, a seemingly cushy two goal lead with the hint of a third in the air became a tense, tied game that might have gone anywhere.

It took a somewhat forgotten but much-loved in the stands Federico Chiesa to turn the tide, and boy, did he rise to the occasion! That volley was controlled, well placed, impossible to stop, and at the right moment to change the momentum of the game completely, nay, to steal it. This was not a wasteful Chiesa who, at times, looked lost last season. This was the Euros Chiesa, the electric headache inducer that lit up stadiums. Does this mean we’re getting that version of him this season? Chiesa’s heist, incidentally, also saved Slot’s hide from the latter’s poor decisions with the subs and Slot will surely learn from it.

Anyway, Arne, can we keep him please?

Mo got his traditional season’s opener goal, and Gakpo did his thing in scoring Liverpool’s second. When he gets the ball in that spot, it often ends up exactly that way. Gakpo also looked sharp throughout, and the Reds’ front line looks fearsome indeed.

You’ll note that I have not named my man-of-the-match yet, and with good reason. It would be easy to name Ekitike, for example; what more could you ask of anyone? But to my mind, the one player who did more than anyone else today, the one who really pulled the strings both in attack and in covering all those gaps that were left due to the communication gaps around Wirtz, the one whose awareness and leadership kept Liverpool going even when the team looked to despair – he is my choice. I am referring, of course, to Dominic Szoboslai, and if we’re getting the Hungarian captain’s version of him for this season on top of everything else, then things are looking up indeed.

One down, thirty-seven to go. It’s worth remembering that the Reds had a tough go at Ipswich in last season’s opener, too, before winning by two, and we know how the season ended.

And, if I may, there is no room for racism of any kind at Anfield.

That was shameful.