Hugo Ekitike has said that Liverpool could’ve won by an even greater margin than the 4-0 they racked up against Galatasaray on Wednesday night.
Needing a victory to remain in the Champions League, the Reds swatted aside their Turkish visitors at Anfield with the kind of swashbuckling display we’ve rarely witnessed this season, and the statistics underlined just how dominant Arne Slot’s side were.
As per Sofascore, half of their 32 shots were on target, with nine ‘big chances’ created among an xG of 4.88, and the away team’s goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakir pulled off no fewer than 11 saves.
Speaking to TNT Sports just after the final whistle, Ekitike was delighted with Liverpool’s overall performance, even though he felt he and his team could’ve been more prolific with the opportunities they had.
The 23-year-old said: “I think we did a great job tonight. We could’ve won 10-0. We missed a few chances but we did a good job, so we can be proud of ourselves tonight and look forward to the quarter-finals.
“We missed a few chances at the end of the first half. Even when I sat in the dressing room at half-time, I said we needed to kill [off] this game. I had my chances; I could’ve scored more tonight.”
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It’s hard to be critical of Liverpool after such a commanding performance, especially considering the pressure they were under coming into this game, but when they led only 1-0 at half-time (courtesy of a neat Dominik Szoboszlai finish) despite having 15 shots, it felt that their wastefulness could’ve come back to haunt them.
Mo Salah was back to his brilliant best last night and yet he still missed five ‘big chances’ (Sofascore), including a first-half penalty. While the Reds could afford such luxuries against Galatasaray, we suspect they won’t get away with such profligacy against Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-finals.
Ekitike himself will feel that he ought to have scored more than once from the seven shots he had, but his goal in the 51st minute was brilliantly dispatched after a sublime cross from the Egyptian winger.
Liverpool’s performance on Wednesday has set the standard they must now aspire to reach in every remaining fixture this season, starting with a tough assignment away to Brighton on Saturday lunchtime.
The Reds are incredibly unlikely to enjoy another 32 shots at the Amex Stadium, so they’ll need to be even more clinical than they were last night.
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