Hugo Ekitike aims pointed Liverpool dig at rivals with tongue-in-cheek jibe

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Liverpool striker Hugo Ekitike has taken a swipe at Premier League rivals following their difficulties in breaking down defensive sides. The summer recruit has reiterated his exasperation with such cautious approaches, having previously made a comparable remark earlier in his time at Anfield.

In an Instagram post, the ex-Eintracht Frankfurt forward shared a glimpse into his world through a collection of images. Among them was a humorous reference to low-blocks being his Achilles heel.

The image bore the caption: "Every legend has a weakness", depicting Samson, Achilles and a figure labelled 'me' with his vulnerability listed as the low-block.

Ekitike had previously shared an Instagram story featuring someone reading a 'How To' manual, which he'd edited to say: "How to face low block."

The French international made his comeback to the matchday squad, having sat out Liverpool's last two fixtures due to muscle discomfort, and found the net in a 4-1 FA Cup victory over Barnsley.

Ekitike has emerged as an astute acquisition for the Reds, with the 23-year-old bagging eight Premier League goals since seeing off competition from Newcastle United and Manchester United for his services.

The dig follows Arne Slot's unexpected comments regarding Liverpool's match preparations and how opposing teams have adjusted their tactics to counteract the Premier League champions' strengths.

He said: "Good win, that's not performance but result.

"We wanted to go into the next round. Four beautiful goals, shot from outside the box it's not always easy to unlock a low block for any team in the world but definitely not us.

"You have so many weapons, you have set-pieces, as we see in the Premier League. Shots outside the box, a one-v-one and in the end, we saw with the third individual skill for Curtis, Hugo and Flo.

"How difficult they [Barnsley] made it for us, a gameplan that looks similar to teams coming here.

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"I think we've played 30 games, for 28 of my pre-match meetings I could throw in the bin.

"Only once or twice the team did what they did the 20 weeks before Arsenal was one of them, Barnsley always plays a 4-3-3 and today decided to go with five which I can completely understand, I'd of done it if I was their manager as well.

"You try to show them what they can expect and what they usually do but they did something different. They made it difficult for us."

The Dutch boss has faced his most challenging spell in management following Liverpool's woeful form between September and November, which not only undermined their Premier League title challenge but also cast doubt over their Champions League progression prospects.