Former PL striker pinpoints Liverpool duo who can unleash chaos

Andy Cole has high hopes for a Liverpool front two of Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike

No top-tier attacking club plays 4-4-2 in big 2025. However, that was how Liverpool crushed Eintracht Frankfurt 5-1 in the Champions League. This win ended a bad run of four straight losses, the worst in over 70 years. It also showed a bold new plan under manager Arne Slot. At the heart of it was the fresh strike pair of Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike.

Liverpool fell behind 1-0 to a goal from former Leeds man Rasmus Kristensen. They fought back hard. Ekitike scored for Liverpool to make it 1-1. He played at Frankfurt before, so this was special. His smart runs, linking with midfielder Florian Wirtz, opened space, and Ekitike was quick to rush. One chance, and bang.

Isak paired well until a groin problem saw him off at the halfway stage of the game, but we know what he’s capable of. Even in both set-piece situations the Reds scored from, Isak helped clear space for both, Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate. Andy Cole on BBC MOTD talked about how the Isak–Ekitike strike force could be “chaos” for the opposition.

“I can see them playing as a two because if they do play as a two, ultimately they’re gonna cause chaos, a lot of chaos.”

DYNAMISM

Reinvention is so attractive. Especially when it pays dividends like this. That means that the manager is actively looking to try and win games and is not attached to just one style of play, which can get suffocating at times, even to watch.

This modern 4-4-2 overcomes the stiffness of the typical 4-4-2. Slot adds a modern twist: full-backs play as de facto wingers, the midfield transforms into a versatile diamond during build-up, and the forwards rotate effortlessly. Ekitike drops back to connect with Wirtz, creating overloads; Isak exploits channels with sharp runs; and Salah inverts to serve as an auxiliary forward.

Mo’s bursts, his cutting inside, and top-class service quality would help stretch defences horizontally, which would also naturally help create more space in the middle where the likes of Wirtz, Szobo, and Ekitike would be waiting to make their mark. Hopefully, we get results from this formation against better and much stronger opposition too.

In all of this, we must also remember the ever-getting-better Cody Gakpo, who can replicate to an extent what Salah does on the right, but on the left. If it clicks, then Liverpool can, in all seriousness, push for the league title once again.