Arne Slot, Manager of Liverpool, looks on during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Liverpool at Old Trafford on May 03, 2026 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)placeholder image
Arne Slot, Manager of Liverpool, looks on during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Liverpool at Old Trafford on May 03, 2026 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Alexander Isak was absent for Liverpool’s 3-2 loss against Manchester United in the Premier League.
Arne Slot insists Alexander Isak will not miss Liverpool’s remaining matches of the season - but refused to pin a depleted squad on the loss to Manchester United.
The Reds fell to a 3-2 defeat at Old Trafford, which was their 18th loss in all competitions this season. Liverpool faced their fierce foes without a recognised striker, with Isak suffering a minor groin issue in training - having recently returned from a broken leg - and Hugo Ekitike absent with a ruptured Achilles. In addition, Mo Salah could not feature because of a hamstring complaint.
Slot’s side were dreadful in the first half against United and were two goals behind inside 14 minutes. Liverpool did get back into the game 12 minutes into the second period through Dominik Szoboszlai and Cody Gakpo but more poor defending was punished by United midfielder Kobbie Mainoo in the 77th minute.
Asked if Isak, purchased for a British record fee of £125m million during last summer’s transfer window, could miss the final three games with Champions League qualification still to be secured, head coach Slot replied: “No, he isn’t. We are expecting him back very soon. There is no excuse. I haven't spoken about missing players and I won't talk about it now. If we can play a second half like we did there is no necessity to have other players here.
“But we weren't able, with this team, to have a chance of winning this game and we were quite close. But as always, one moment of switching off leads to us conceding the goal when there was a moment where is was - I think the Liverpool journalists recognise it so many teams this season -it was waiting for us to score one and then we conceded because we switched off for one or two seconds in a crucial moment.”
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