Liverpool were held to a 1-1 draw against Tottenham Hotspur with Hugo Ekitike being named among the substitutes.

It was a starting line-up that some supporters questioned.

Certainly, former Liverpool striker Michael Owen and Kop icon Robbie Fowler were not fully convinced about the changes that Arne Slot made to his Reds team.

Tweaks were understandable amid a run of four matches in 12 days - and three games in a week. But five switches to the Reds’ XI against Tottenham Hotspur did leave sections of fans and pundits alike somewhat miffed. After a 1-1 draw against a debilitated Spurs side, those who were concerned would have felt vindicated.

You could see why Slot had to make some tweaks after the 1-0 loss to Galatasaray in the Champions League last 16 first leg. And with Alisson Becker returning to fitness, he was always going to replace Giorgi Mamardashvili in goal despite the No.2’s impressive performance in Turkey.

But perhaps the decision that some Kopites will feel Slot did not get right was to bench Hugo Ekitike. The striker has arguably been Liverpool’s second-best player behind Dominik Szoboszlai this campaign, having fired 16 goals since his £79 million move from Eintracht Frankfurt. Instead, Cody Gakpo spearheaded the attack.

Ekitike was introduced in the 64th minute when he replaced Rio Ngumoha, who delivered an electric performance on his full Premier League debut. Ekitike had a couple of opportunities that he could not take during his cameo as Liverpool missed the chance to move up to fourth in the Premier League.

Speaking ahead of the game, Slot revealed that Ekitike had missed some training before Tottenham’s visit. The Liverpool boss said when asked about Ngumoha’s full debut: “Because he started training with us this season, and he’s improving, improving, improving. His game time has gone up, up, up, and then usually the next step is starting, and that’s today.

“First of all, because he did so well against Wolves, first of all because he’s developing well. Second of all, Hugo Ekitike trained for the first time with us yesterday, but missed out the day before.”

With Alexander Isak sidelined since the middle of December with a broken leg, Ekitike has had to shoulder much of the burden of leading the line and picked up a hamstring issue after the turn of the year. Liverpool have been trying to manage the France international’s minutes to ensure he is not forced back onto the treatment table. However, some may feel that it backfired against Spurs.