Arne Slott has issued a worrying update on Hugo Ekitike and sent a message to Liverpool’s owners following Tuesday night’s Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain. The Reds had everything left to do after losing 2-0 in the French capital last week, but hopes of a comeback were quickly dashed when Ekitike was carried off on a stretcher just 30 minutes into the game.
The attacker appeared to be in considerable pain while being examined by the medical team, and Ms Slott admitted early signs were “not good”. Liverpool have missed out on silver medals this season, but are locked in a battle to finish within the Champions League spots next year.
The match will probably be played without Ekitike’s services, but Slott told Amazon Prime after the match: “It wasn’t very good. We all knew it wasn’t looking good. We’ll see how it goes. He went home in the second half, but I haven’t seen it yet.”
“It seems like that’s the case, but losing a player, which we’ve had many times this season, is especially tough for him because the last thing you want to do is get injured, especially at this stage of the season.”
Meanwhile, in a subsequent briefing, Slott appeared to have sent a sharp message to Liverpool’s owners. When asked if he thought Liverpool’s current stars can match those of previous generations, the Dutchman referred to the club’s transfer strategy.
He said: “It is often said that the club is in a period of transition. The club has sold eight to 10 players to raise money to sign five or so very talented players.”
“We have to sell to buy. We are losing some players on free transfers. It will be a big challenge in the summer, but the club has shown that this model works. As I have said many times, if we can sign players, especially after the departure of good players this summer, the future will be very good.”
In the second half, Liverpool’s Alexis Mac Allister was adjudged to have been fouled in the penalty area, and the on-field referee pointed to the spot to award a penalty. After a short delay, the referee was ordered to review the decision, and the penalty was ultimately rescinded.
Slott said: “If you look at our season, there were so many decisions against us that I’m not surprised at all. For me it’s very simple: if the referee hadn’t given a penalty, VAR would never have intervened.”
“As I said, I don’t think this season has been surprising. A lot of decisions went against us, not only in the Champions League, but also in the Premier League. We couldn’t score, but we had a lot of chances.”
