Manager admits the club need to share the blame for the Swede’s underwhelming start
Arne Slot believes Liverpool have not yet created the conditions for Alexander Isak to play at his best, and he insists the team must adjust to suit their record signing in the same way Manchester City organise their play around Erling Haaland.
Isak, who arrived from Newcastle for £125m in August, scored his first Premier League goal for the club against West Ham last weekend. But his influence quickly dipped again in Wednesday’s narrow win over Sunderland, continuing a underwhelming start to life under Slot.
The Liverpool head coach has repeatedly pointed to the striker’s disrupted summer as a major factor in his slow start, after Isak boycotted Newcastle’s preseason training to force through his move.
But Slot accepted on Friday that Liverpool also need to share the blame for the Swede’s limited impact.
“He is not the only No 9 who suffers in some games from not getting many chances,” Slot said. “It is obvious and clear that we want to bring him into more threatening situations.
“Because we are a little bit more compact and not taking as many risks, we have not been able to create as many chances as all of the games before.
“It is definitely one of the things on my list of things to improve – to get our No 9 more involved in the game and more involved in the final third.”
Isak has averaged only 14 touches across his last three league starts. Slot argued the raw number is less important than the quality of those involvements, pointing to Haaland’s style as an example of how a striker can dominate without participating heavily in build-up.
“I have no clue what the stats of Haaland are but I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t touch it 100 times a game, but he does score a lot,” Slot said.
“It is more important that they touch the ball in the right times than to touch it so many times. Haaland touches it much more where it matters and that’s where we need to improve. It is clear and obvious.”
