Liverpool Boss Slot Credits Ekitike’s Physical Improvement for Scoring Form

Liverpool manager Arne Slot believes Hugo Ekitike’s recent run of five goals in four matches reflects the striker’s dedication to improving his fitness.

The 23-year-old scored in his first three appearances after joining from Eintracht Frankfurt, but his early impact was overshadowed by the £125 million ($169 million) signing of Alexander Isak. Ekitike then struggled for goals, netting just three in his next 17 matches as he adapted to the demands of English football.

With Isak now sidelined for several months due to injury and Mohamed Salah away at the Africa Cup of Nations, Liverpool are relying on Ekitike to lead the attack. Slot attributes much of the French forward’s recent progress to improved physical conditioning, though he admitted convincing Ekitike of the importance of this work was challenging.

“He showed a lot of hard work to get to this fitness level where he is at the moment,” Slot said ahead of Saturday’s match against Wolves. “It sometimes took us—me—a bit of convincing that this all is actually needed to become stronger, but he always did it, not always with a smile on his face, but he has worked really hard to get fitter on and off the pitch.”

Slot also highlighted the tactical benefits of fitness, adding: “I’ve tried to convince him as well, the better you defend a set-piece the bigger chance you have to score at the other end, because if you are 0-0 it is easier to score a goal than if you are 1-0 down.”

Liverpool are currently on a six-game unbeaten run across all competitions, recovering from a poor stretch of nine losses in 12 matches that left them out of title contention. The reigning champions sit fifth in the Premier League, 10 points behind leaders Arsenal.

“The main thing that has changed is, apart from the second half against Brighton, we haven’t conceded that many chances as we did in the run we had before,” Slot said. “I also think we have been a bit more lucky than in the games before because we have played games where we were so much better than the other teams. In the last game against Spurs, I don’t think we had many more chances against them, and against Brighton it was equal as well, and those two games we won. Many times we have been so unlucky with the result, almost every time, but in the last two games I wouldn’t say we didn’t deserve it but they were more equal games than many others we have played which we lost.”

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