Alexander Isak unceremoniously became the first Liverpool player in Premier League history to lose his first four starts with the club.
The Swede was largely anonymous in a 3–0 loss to Nottingham Forest on Saturday at Anfield. He logged just 14 touches of the ball, was dispossessed twice and failed to register a shot on target. Isak came off in the 68th minute as the lowest rated player (5.5), per FotMob. Less than ideal for the most expensive player in Premier League history.
Across nine appearances for the Reds in all competitions, Isak has failed to find the back of the net in the English top-flight and Champions League. His lone goal came back on Sept. 23 in a Carabao Cup third round tie against Southampton.
The result also marked Liverpool’s sixth loss in their last seven league games as the champions could find themselves 11 points adrift of Arsenal after the north London derby.
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Category Total
Minutes Played 68
Total Shots 1
Shots on Target 0
Expected Goals (xG) 0.19
Chances Created 1
Accurate Passes 5/7 (71%)
Touches 14
Ground Duels Won 0/4
Aerial Duels Won 0/3
Liverpool's Van Dijk, Mac Allister, Isa
Virgil van Dijk (left), Alexis Mac Allister (middle) and Isak (right) struggled against Forest. / Molly Darlington/Getty Images
Liverpool blanked in back-to-back weeks as their confidence in front of goal was questioned after the game.
Arne Slot’s Reds were held scoreless at Anfield by Forest for the second season in a row. It was also the fourth time this season in all competitions the Reds failed to find the back of the net. For context, Forest’s Gameweek 4 win last campaign was the only time Liverpool didn’t score in a Premier League match.
“I don't think so yet. It’s difficult for me to feel what they feel. But if I look at the way we finish these chances, I don’t see a player that’s lacking confidence or is hesitating,” Slot said after the game.
“The only thing I can see is that we do create and the finishing is as expected, but the blocks and the saves are also of quality.”
The Reds have scored 18 goals in 12 Premier League matches this season—six fewer than they had at this point last year. Mohamed Salah’s production has slowed down massively netting just four goals in the league, while Florian Wirtz is also chasing his first goal in a Liverpool shirt.
Hugo Ekitiké remains Liverpool’s leading scorer, though Slot hasn’t figured out how to maximize his two marquee centre forwards yet.
Player Appearances Goals
Hugo Ekitiké 17 6
Mohamed Salah 17 5
Cody Gakpo 17 4
Ryan Gravenberch 13 3
Virgil van Dijk* 17 2
*Dominik Szoboszlai and Federico Chiesa are tied with Van Dijk
Arne Slot
A dejected Slot walks off after losing to Forest. / Molly Darlington/Getty Images
Slot accepted blame for Liverpool’s form acknowledging it feels like what can go wrong, will go wrong.
“It is my responsibility. If we win or lose, it is my responsibility,” Slot said. “But what I also see is the team and, by the way, our fans as well stay until the end, support the team until the end and the players keep on trying until the end.
“What I also saw today, but it wasn’t at City—and at City we are not the only team that struggles in the first half—and in every other game we’ve played, we’ve been the dominant team and we were able to create chances. Like I said, lately it is almost constantly that we miss our chances and then ones go in that we concede, but that will never continue throughout the whole season.”
The Reds host PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League on Wednesday before a trip to West Ham to close out November.
Date Opponent Competition
Wednesday, Nov. 26 PSV Eindhoven (H) Champions League
Sunday, Nov. 30 West Ham United (A) Premier League
Wednesday, Dec. 3 Sunderland (H) Premier League
Saturday, Dec. 6 Leeds United (A) Premier League
Tuesday, Dec. 9 Inter Milan (A) Champions League
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