Alexander Isak missed Liverpool’s 3-2 defeat to Man United with a groin injury, but Arne Slot insists his season is not over – and his absence was “no excuse.”
Isak was ruled out in the buildup to Sunday’s loss at Old Trafford after suffering a groin strain in training.
It left Slot without a specialist striker, with the Dutchman initially fielding Florian Wirtz and Dominik Szoboszlai in the central roles before quickly switching Cody Gakpo from left wing to centre-forward.
Liverpool were a mess in attack for much of the game, with only 0.38xG from their 11 shots which didn’t go in, and that has only heightened concerns over losing the No. 9.
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In his post-match press conference, Slot was asked if Isak is at risk of missing the rest of the season, but replied: “No, he isn’t.
“We’re expecting him to be back very soon.”
Regardless, Slot was adamant Liverpool could not use Isak’s layoff as an excuse for their performance, as he believes they showed enough in the second half without a natural striker.
“You saw the second half, there’s no excuse. I haven’t spoken about missing players, I won’t talk about it now,” he continued.
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - Sunday, May 3, 2026: Liverpool's Dominik Szoboszlai celebrates after scoring his side's first goal during the FA Premier League match between Manchester United FC and Liverpool FC at Old Trafford. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
“If you can play a second half like we did there’s no necessity to have other players here.
“We were able, with this team, to have a chance of winning this game.
“We were quite close, but as always, one moment of switching off immediately leads to us conceding a goal.
“I think the Liverpool journalists recognise this. So many times this season it was waiting for us to score one and then we concede because we switch off for one or two seconds in a crucial moment.”
Those 11 shots aside from Szoboszlai and Gakpo’s goals were worth just 0.03xG each, while even the two efforts which did go in were only valued at 0.51xG combined.
That demonstrates that, despite Slot’s assertion that Liverpool played well, they are still not creating chances of the quality needed to consistently win games.
Liverpool have struggled with and without Isak, but the hope is that upon his return – perhaps as soon as next weekend’s visit of Chelsea – he can build on his first Anfield goal for the club last time out against Crystal Palace.