Alexander Isak struggled to make any impact in the first half of Liverpool’s trip to Everton.
The Sweden international was isolated for much of the first 45, registering only five touches as the Reds took a 1-0 lead via Mo Salah.
The Merseysiders pay a visit to the Hill Dickinson Stadium in search of a valuable three points in their bid to retain Champions League football.
To give credit where credit is due, it’s perhaps not a game particularly well-suited to getting the best out of Liverpool’s record-breaking striker signing.
Adam Bate reported for Sky Sports: “Probably no coincidence that it’s Isak and Wirtz, the Liverpool newcomers to a Merseyside derby away from home, who are struggling the most.”
Fellow Sky commentator Chris Sutton agreed: “Isak has been on the periphery of the game.
“The 45 minutes in the week would have done him a bit of good but fair to say, not up to the pace.”
It’s worth additionally noting that Isak has only picked up 859 minutes of action this term – a fraction of his injured teammate Hugo Ekitike (2,872 minutes).
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So, we perhaps shouldn’t be expecting the world out of the 26-year-old, certainly not at this late stage in the campaign.
It very much feels like we’re just building up our No.9 for a hopefully promising finish to the 2025/26 season that can safely feed into pre-season action.
Make no mistake, the former Newcastle hitman is a different kind of attacker to Ekitike.
We’re unlikely to see Alexander Isak dropping deep to pick up possession or flying out wide on the left.
And coming back from a serious injury against one of the most compact, well-organised opponents in the Premier League is hardly conducive to giving the forward the space and time he needs to get back into the groove.
On that basis, you can understand why Jamie Carragher was a little hesitant about Isak being included in the starting lineup.
Still, it’s hard not to feel a little disappointed, even bearing in mind reasonable mitigating circumstances.
* Alexander Isak’s first-half stats vs Everton in the Premier League (Fotmob)
We know we’re going to see the best out of Isak eventually – he’s far too talented a footballer for him to turn out to be a disappointment at L4.
But we’re just going to have to be patient from here on out.
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Easy to pick on Isak who was poor, but what about wirtz? Why won’t this website ever criticise wirtz who again missing in action,.
This is the game I saw. Everton were the far better team, they won every tackle, second ball, the duels for 35 minutes, they were unlucky for the goal ruled offside. Salah as usual saved the day. Second half, Everton deserved to score, a draw we were lucky to get that.
Isak like wirtz looks lost. Yet again today as a Liverpool fan you watch the game and we are outplayed outfought by Everton. Story of the season under slot.
Only the clueless won’t admit, we are in decline under FSG owners and slot and Richard Hughes.
Those who don’t say anything against FSG like Jamie carracher are on the payroll of FSG.
I dont believe isak is this poor. He was 2nd top scorer to Salah last season. You need to know how to play him and provide service and support to him. As usual, the negative comments on our players, only this time it’s isak. If Salah did not score, he will also be that scapegoat. We did not really deserve the win as we played badly again. Stop this type of boring football. Fans deserve better. Fsg, please take note and act or you will bear the consequences from the fans next season.
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