Liverpool 0-3 Nottingham Forest: Match Review
The former Liverpool midfielder delivered an honest verdict on Alexander Isak who joined for a British record fee of £125m in the summer transfer window.
Jason McAteer has insisted that Liverpool need more from Alexander Isak - and believes that the narrative about his lack of fitness can’t continue.
Isak joined the Reds for a British record fee of £125 million on the final day of the summer transfer window. As he pursued a move to Anfield, the striker trained separately at Newcastle United and missed the majority of pre-season.
Isak arrived at Liverpool well short of match fitness and was slowly built up to speed. He then suffered a groin injury, ruling him out of four games. But with Arne Slot admitting that he needs fast-track Isak to full fitness, he started last Saturday’s clash against Nottingham Forest.
However, Isak was largely anonymous as Liverpool’s dire form continued with a 3-0 loss. The Sweden international touched the ball only 15 times throughout his 68-minute cameo and had just one tame shot.
Speaking on the Official Liverpool FC Podcast, McAteer claimed that he spotted Isak pulling out of a tackle in the first half, which could have raised the atmosphere inside Anfield. And despite the centre-forward being undercooked, McAteer reckons that Isak can still do more.
What’s been said
When asked about Isak’s performance, the former Liverpool midfielder said: “Need more. You can't keep churning the narrative that we are going to give him game time. He is a professional footballer and knows what he needs to do. You can go out onto a pitch and give [100 per cent] for 45 minutes because that's the plan. You give everything for 45 minutes and there's nothing in the tank. He was anonymous. He was absolutely anonymous. I have got to bring it up, there was an opportunity to make a really good tackle in the middle of the park and he backed out of it and the crowd turned on him. That's the last thing you need when you're in that position.
“You're not scoring, not playing well and you've backed out of a tackle and the crowd have turned. We still talk about the Conor Bradley tackle on Mbappe and people remember moments and tackles. That was your opportunity to win the ball, win something. That's when you can change the crowd, that's youre opportunity, take it and he didn't. That was just one moment, he didn't take his opportunity on the pitch, he looked a bit anonymous and we can't keep churning the narrative out that he's had no pre-season. He has got to produce.
“There was a moment in the second half on the right-hand side, I was looking at Isak's movement. There was a lot of attacking talent on the pitch, Ekitike had come on; he was outside the box on the left-hand side and I was thinking: If Liverpool pull the trigger and the keeper spills it he isn't going to create an opportunity for himself by following the ball in and being in a position where he might get the bits. You've got to be there to score goals. He's thinking about it too much.”
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