Steven Gerrard thinks Liverpool have found a new Fernando Torres for Arne Slot | Football | Sport

A sluggish Liverpool had been put to the sword by Newcastle early doors, with Anthony Gordon netting the opening for the visitors. Liverpool ought to have found themselves even further behind, but as half-time approached, a quick-fire brace from Ekitike gave Liverpool an unlikely half-time lead.

Liverpool remained on top in the second half, with further goals from Florian Wirtz and Ibrahima Konate securing a much-needed win in the race for Champions League qualification. And speaking as part of the TNT Sports punditry team, Liverpool legend Gerrard likened Ekitike’s playing style to that of his former team-mate, Torres.

Commenting on his inventive ‘toe-poke’ finish for the second goal of the evening, Gerrard remarked: “This is all about Ekitike. It’s Torres-like, he just gets it out of his feet. He reminds me of Torres this player, every time I watch him. He’s scoring similar types of goals where if you give him space in the channel, he’ll run it. He’s too quick, you can’t catch him and he is deadly.”

The Anfield faithful have certainly taken a liking to Ekitike, as was evidenced by the standing ovation he received after being subbed off late on in Saturday’s clash. On his performance, Ekitike told TNT Sports: “To be honest, it is something that I work on in training [the toe-poke finish], and I don’t usually use it that much in games because it is something we don’t see much.

“I tried to go past him, but he is pretty fast, so I had to find something. The point is that in the last games, since the start of the season, I have had to cut inside and shoot, but he gave me so much space that I could try this and it worked. It’s good.”

While on the team’s showing in general, the 23-year-old added: “It’s always nice to score goals and give confidence to the players. I think we came here [against Newcastle] with confidence but also I think tonight is about team spirit. We won 4-1. I scored two goals. Ibou scored and Flo scored.

“But it’s the whole team if you see the work of Macca [Alexis Mac Allister] and Dom [Szoboszlai]. Everybody tonight was running everywhere. It’s not about the one you see on the scoresheet or who scores goals. It’s about the team tonight.”