Arne Slott has confirmed that Alexander Isak was substituted at half-time in Liverpool’s 5-1 win at Eintracht Frankfurt with a groin injury.
The striker started alongside Hugo Ekitique in Germany, but his night ended when he was replaced by Federico Chiesa at the break.
Isak’s form has been scrutinized since his £125million move from Newcastle this summer, having only scored in the Carabao Cup for his new club.
After a Champions League encounter that ended in a fourth-game defeat, Reds manager Slott said Isaac had left due to injury.
he said TNT Sports: “Alexander had a bit of pain in his groin and had to stop playing at half-time, which is unfortunate.
“I have said many times that it is so difficult to find balance in a player who has been out for three months.
Hugo Ekitike started alongside Alexander Isak in the Champions League match.
“If you go slow with him, people argue about playing with him longer. Now we’ve played him for the second time in three days and unfortunately he’s had to leave.”
“Let’s hope for the best, but it’s not easy to find balance when a player has been sidelined for so long.”
He later added at a press conference: “Today with Alex and Hugo I brought two players on the pitch who would normally score goals. Alex came close a few times but had to come off at half-time.
“Normally we try to prepare the players for football once a week, but at Liverpool we play once every three days, usually three times in eight days. But this season unfortunately we have to play three games in seven days.”
“We tried to prepare him, we were really careful and he was perfectly fit when he came back from international duty before the United game.”
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Daily Mail’s Craig Hope claimed on Back Pages Tonight that Alexander Isak has lost his faith and instincts as a striker and believes it is more than just a fitness issue.
“We thought he was well prepared for it, but the top margin is small. If he’s out for a few weeks, he’ll come back, so we’re hoping it’s not that bad. So let’s wait.”
Starting with Alexander Isaac on Wednesday, Ekitike added: “I think it was a good game. It wasn’t our best game together, but we can improve together.”
“He is a very good player and in time we need to work together and find a good association. The link will come and it will work.”
Right-back Jeremie Frimpong’s halting start to the campaign continued after he was ruled out for “several weeks” with a hamstring injury and was replaced by Conor Bradley at half-time.
Jeremy Frimpong was also ruled out for Liverpool in the first half with a hamstring injury.
Slots: We needed a win
Slot was relieved after the crushing defeat in Frankfurt and added insight into the differences between Germany’s performance and their previous four defeats.
He added: TNT Sports: “We needed a win. What we needed more was another performance where we created a lot of chances but the players were rewarded with a win. That’s what happened.
“I saw a lot of similarities to other games because maybe the first chance they had was a goal, maybe it was the only chance they had and we won 3-1 and it was probably easier to control the game when we were down 3-1 than when we were 1-0 or 2-1.
Ibrahima Konate scored Liverpool’s third goal.
“But the biggest difference between this game and the previous four games was that most of the time the opposition scored from set pieces, and this time we scored from two set pieces.
“Then people focused more on the offense we had in the second half rather than the bad passes. Maybe we did too. But when you’re down 3-1, you evaluate it differently.”
Ekitike: Without Frankfurt, I wouldn’t be here.
Hugo Ekitiche scores against former club Eintracht Frankfurt in a Champions League match.
Ekitike, who joined Liverpool from the Bundesliga club this summer, has made a quick return to Frankfurt. He also scored, refused to celebrate in the aftermath and credited Frankfurt with making him the player he is today.
“I had to (score),” he said. TNT Sports. “It felt really good and coming home was special for me.”
“This was a special game for me because I know everyone here and I’m really happy to win and score my first goal in the Champions League.
“I have a lot of respect for them. They made me the player I am today. If I hadn’t come to Frankfurt, I wouldn’t be here.”
“So I come and respect and appreciate what they gave me. I will carry with me what I learned here and the values they gave me going forward.”
Van Dijk: It’s not a statement, but it’s a victory.
Virgil van Dijk scores Liverpool’s second goal against Eintracht Frankfurt.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk also got on the German scoresheet and said the only way to get back to winning ways is to come together as a group.
“I don’t know if this is a statement, but this is a win and a foundation,” he said. TNT Sports.
“I can’t say I’m happy (to win) because I’ve been in the soccer world for a while, but I was disappointed to lose the game.
“I don’t think losing four games in a row has ever happened in my time. It’s something you have to deal with as a group, stick together, block out the outside noise and keep working.
“The only way to perform in the best way possible is to focus on the task ahead and perform as a team. That’s the only way to win games.
“Obviously we have individual qualities, otherwise we wouldn’t play for Liverpool, but we have to work together to be successful, so don’t keep getting dragged down by that (outside noise).
“We won today, we got three points. Now we get back up and ready for Brentford.”
