Isak once again, understandably, looked rusty in his appearance as a substitute while Wirtz, who has shown real signs of finally settling to his task in recent games, still has so much more to produce on past evidence.

“They can play together, of course they can. They’re both exceptional players,” former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy said about Ekitike and Isak.

“But the manager sees them both as number nines – I think they will split games. One plays 60 minutes, the other 30.

“I think in certain games he might play Ekitike on the left or as a number 10 but predominantly I see them both as central strikers.”

Ekitike settled instantly, from the moment he scored an early goal against Crystal Palace in the Community Shield at Wembley, delivering performances that have seen Anfield take him to its heart.

Slot was delighted to keep Liverpool’s winning run going after a tough Champions League assignment at home to Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, telling BBC Sport’s Match Of The Day: “I’m very satisfied taking everything into account that we had to play our third game in seven games, having the early kick-off.

“I don’t care at all about the early kick-off but I do care if you have to play on Wednesday night, then you have to manage this through the whole week.

“Taking that all into account and winning the derby with a great first-half performance, it is good.”

Slot added: “Our mentality kept us in the game because they didn’t have another chance after their 2-1 goal. We have showed great mentality and showed great quality when we were fresh in the first half.”

Ekitike can take great praise for his contribution in building the platform for another win for relentless Liverpool.