Isak injury in chaotic Liverpool win gives Slot more problems

It was intended to be the season-ending moment for Alexander Isak.

The £125m signing from Liverpool had scored brilliantly past Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario on the bench to give Arne Slot’s side the lead.

After seeing Isak and Florian Wirtz, who had received his first Premier League assist after signing for £116m in the summer, Slot was thrilled to see them both play.

Here is a preview of Liverpool’s future with Mohamed Salah on Africa Cup of Nations duty and Cody Gakpo out injured. And it’s the first indication that both Liverpool’s record signings are connected.

However, as Micky van de Ven’s tackle left Isak lying on the floor in agony, that joy quickly turned into concern. As his team-mates began to gather around him, it became clear that Isak would not be able to continue.

“We’ll have to wait and see,” Slot said. However, it’s typically not a good thing if a player scores and then gets injured before making an effort to return to the field.”

It appears to be very unfavorable.

The issues continue to arise for Liverpool, who have seemingly turned the tables and are currently unbeaten in six. Isak and Conor Bradley are both facing suspension.

After receiving a knock on Isak, Bradley was taken off at half-time to sum up their misfortune in a nutshell. Isak made a final-minute save for Jeremie Frimpong, who was playing his first game since October.

In the 90th minute, Frimpong was replaced by Federico Chiesa, despite Slot’s insistence that the full-back would be fine and that he simply didn’t want to play for 30 seconds with 10 men. In any case, the two players Slot subbed on did not succeed in the game.

In the end, Hugo Ekitike’s goal put Liverpool in control of yet another crucial victory, but they almost blew it away to Tottenham’s nine men, who sent off Xavi Simons and Cristian Romero.

Jamie Redknapp’s opinion on Sky Sports was “Masterclass on how to manage the final 10 minutes.” Even Slot himself acknowledged that it wasn’t ideal.

“It’s unbelievable if you play against nine men, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they had the ball for eight and a half for the ninety minutes of extra time.” That’s not what you’d anticipate, and perhaps that indicates where we’re headed in this season, Slot told BBC Match of the Day.

They essentially survived because Spurs threw the kitchen sink at the visitors, with Richarlison being one of the key players.

It would not be an understatement to say that Liverpool appeared to have two fewer players on the pitch in the latter stages.

a significant improvement over the control they displayed for the most of the previous season.

When we had the ball, we didn’t keep it. They received a few free kicks, throw-ins, and corners from us after we kicked it away. “It became very chaotic and hectic,” Slot continued.

After a torrid run of nine defeats in 12, Liverpool’s season has been chaotic and hectic, but the title holders can take some satisfaction from knowing that they will end the year on the same level as Chelsea, who are 4th.

Overall, Slot claimed that the game was in good hands.

“Six games have been won, two have lost,” he declared. Although we still have two top nines, we are definitely not perfect. There are still some benefits to the game.

Positives to take no prisoners after Liverpool won three games, but this time, it was demonstrated once more that this side has far more questions than answers.