Liverpool put in a slightly worrying performance at Wembley on Sunday as they were beaten in the Community Shield.
Although they led twice against Crystal Palace, the Reds were unable to hold on and ultimately lost on penalties.
While defeat will mean little to nothing in the grand scheme of the season, the Liverpool squad will be disappointed at losing, especially against an inferior side in Palace.
One of the clear takeaways from the match is that Liverpool are light in attacking areas.
Having lost Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez and – tragically – Diogo Jota, the Reds have only signed Hugo Ekitike. Liverpool are trying to buy Alexander Isak for a British record fee, and on this evidence they need him.
Captain Virgil van Dijk has never been shy in praising Isak, and after Sunday’s loss the Dutchman appeared to publicly push Liverpool towards signing the Swede.
Alexander Isak and Virgil van Dijk battle for the ball during the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Liverpool at St James' Park.
Photo by MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Virgil van Dijk wants attacking addition
It was not only the forward line who struggled against Palace, there were plenty of problems in defence as well.
Liverpool fans were impressed by Marc Guehi’s performance as he continues to be linked with a move to Anfield, while Van Dijk himself was uncharacteristically off his game.
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The 34-year-old tends to front up whether in defeat or in victory, though, and he did the same after Palace won on Sunday.
As reported by journalist Alex Crook, Van Dijk urged Liverpool to dip into the market again in what sounded like a ‘go get Isak’ plea.
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“Virgil van Dijk very open with me on talkSPORT,” Crook posted on X.
“‘I hate losing and I’ve lost my last two games at Wembley’. Bemoaned defensive mistakes although said he ‘wasn’t worried’ moving forward. Said after losing Nunez and Diaz they need another forward. Sounded like a ‘go get Isak’ plea.”
Liverpool badly in need of more firepower
One of the biggest positives to come out of Sunday was the encouraging performance of Ekitike at Wembley.
The Frenchman’s arrival has been somewhat overlooked as focus is on Isak, but he looks like a real coup for Liverpool to have landed.
But, Ekitike aside, Liverpool’s front three were woefully off form. Mohamed Salah was completely ineffectual, and compounded a miserable performance with yet another penalty miss.
Cody Gakpo, meanwhile, was arguably worse. The Dutch forward was knocked off the ball far too easily in the build-up to both Palace goals and offered little to no threat going forward.
Some have queried why Liverpool need to spend such a huge sum on Isak in the final weeks of the transfer window. But after what they served up at Wembley, there should be no further questions.