Alexander Isak’s form does not quite do justice to his huge price tag. The 26-year-old Swedish striker has scored a solitary goal in six matches for Liverpool so far. The fact that his team has now lost three matches in a row further complicates the matter.
Purely on form, Isak should not make the starting XI for the Reds. It cannot be denied that the controversy surrounding his signing marred his pre-season training to a large extent. Hence, he might be a bit undercooked at the moment.
Still, the £120 million Liverpool striker should be able to take those things in his stride. Isak’s form has been poor since joining the Reds, and Arne Slot should think of a way to make the former explosive Newcastle star more effective for his new team.
Alexander Isak’s Form: Should He Be Dropped?
Liverpool have been benching Hugo Ekitike in order to accommodate Isak in their last few matches. However, Ekitike, who has scored five goals in 10 matches so far, deserves to start for the team at the moment.
Cody Gakpo, who starts on the left flank, might make way for Ekitike in the upcoming matches to allow both the latter and Isak to be in the starting XI. Gakpo has scored a couple of goals in 10 matches so far and might just be dropped in Ekitike’s favour.
However, Isak’s form has been poor, partly due to his inability to gel with Mohamed Salah has been a major problem. There have not been too many lateral passes played by the Egyptian to Isak. Moreover, Florian Wirtz’s off-form means that there is not enough delivery to the Swede from the midfield either.
Dominik Szoboszlai has played in place of Wirtz of late, but he is not as good a passer of the ball as the German. Moreover, teams typically defend deep against Liverpool, which means that there is not enough space for the Swede in the final third to operate.
Isak has been able to take only four shots at the opposition goal in the Premier League this season, and none of them have been on target. That is a serious shortcoming and he will have to work on creating more space in the final third to take shots at goal.
Liverpool could also consider playing more crosses into the box to enable the tall Swede to attempt headers. With Trent Alexander-Arnold not in the team anymore, there are not too many good crossers of the ball in the Liverpool line-up.
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Salah Will Have To Step Up
Salah will have to play lateral passes to Isak more often to enable the latter to have more goal-scoring opportunities. The Swede can also think of swapping places with the left-winger at times to puzzle the opposition defenders.
By swapping positions with the left-winger, Isak should be able to have more fluidity in his game which might help Liverpool’s form as well.
The Reds have scored 13 goals in their seven league matches so far, which is a bit below par. The onus is on Isak to a great extent to change things upfront and help his team score more goals. It remains to be seen whether the former Newcastle man is able to help Liverpool’s form improve.
Main Photo
Credit: IMAGO / Sportimage
Recording Date: 04.10.2025