LONDON — For Alexander Isak, this actually might need been the second the place all of it went click on. Not that the ten minutes main as much as his aim had notably steered that British soccer’s document signing was on the point of one thing, however there may be nothing to pull a participant out of a protracted funk like a aim. All of the extra so on condition that his aim dragged Liverpool forward in a sport that they resolutely didn’t impose themselves on, irrespective of the difficulties of Tottenham.
These have been the moments that you just pay $175 million. They’ve been altogether too rare for Liverpool, 2-1 winners at Tottenham.
Cruelly for Isak, nonetheless, they won’t be far more frequent for a while but. It was the opposite click on that threatens to outline this present day. Or maybe it was a jar, a jam or one thing much more heavy-duty. Regardless of the nature of the harm achieved to Isak as Micky van de Ven collided with him properly after the shot was away, it was sufficient to rob Liverpool’s No. 9 of what would possibly in any other case have been a second of ecstasy. There was to be no celebration from Isak nor from his teammates. Darkish and apprehensive faces quickly surrounded the Swede, who squirmed on the ground in agony, one hand masking his eyes as the opposite clung onto his left knee. He appeared to concern the worst.
A stretcher might not have been required, however the worst fears hardly appeared allayed as Isak hobbled alongside the touchline at agonizing tempo, his weight positioned on two Liverpool physios. Out of the blue, all method of fears got here crashing into view. When would possibly Isak be again to fireside life into 12 months one at his new membership? The assumption is a damaged leg, placing him out doubtlessly for the subsequent handful of months, which is a small silver lining to what doubtlessly may have been a season-ending damage. Is not this what any purchaser would all the time have feared from a participant whose Newcastle profession was pockmarked with runs of seven or eight video games on the sidelines? What of the World Cup and, certainly, the qualifiers in March, the place Sweden may actually do with top-of-the-line strikers on the earth?
For Arne Slot, it was a lot too quickly for such doomerism, although he admitted that his intestine feeling was not a constructive one. “I haven’t got any information on him,” he stated on Saturday. “If a participant scores and will get injured and does not come on the pitch and likewise does not strive … That is often not a very good factor. I can’t say something greater than that. That’s simply intestine feeling. Nothing medical.
“I have not spoken to him about his feeling nevertheless it’s a pleasant factor that he scored. A superb aim, assisted by Florian Wirtz.”
Slot is perhaps intent on discovering the silver lining however the story of this season appears to be that, irrespective of how a lot they spend, Liverpool can’t have good issues. Not for the primary time this season, a second of triumph was swept away immediately. So too departed a flicker of what Slot’s workforce might need been given extra time to construct the automatisms they so clearly lack.
Isak’s aim had been the second the remainder of the Premier League had feared since Martin Edwards parked the Brink’s truck exterior St. James’ Park and got here up with a suggestion even Saudi Arabia could not refuse. One clumsy second from Cristian Romero — the primary of many — and the ball was ricocheting off Alexis Mac Allister and into Isak’s path. Sensible hold-up play along with his again to aim after which the No. 9 slipped the ball to Hugo Ekitike, whose first-time cross discovered Wirtz in stride. That long-awaited first aim contribution betrayed no nerves, a cross performed at simply the best second for Isak to bend one low and throughout Guglielmo Vicario.
“That is what we want to see occurring so much,” stated Slot. “Good end, good cross. Let’s not be too adverse but. We do not know. Let’s hope he is again with us quickly. Troublesome to say.”
This will really feel like an overhype of an assault that was as a lot to do with how little else Liverpool supplied in an attacking sense. A header from Ekitike 10 minutes after the opener gave them sufficient of a cushion to carry off a late cost however towards 11, 10 or 9 males, Liverpool by no means bought going. It was one factor to get outshot 5 to at least one by Spurs within the interval earlier than Xavi Simons’ pink card; Tottenham managed the sport quite properly early on. The truth that it was 10 to seven in Tottenham’s favor from then on speaks as a lot to Liverpool’s incapacity to take advantage of possession and territory because it does the late cost led to by Richarlison’s scrappy end seven minutes from time.
Liverpool discovered themselves clinging on towards 9 males on the loss of life partly as a result of soccer is a deeply foolish sport for a way low-scoring it’s, considerably as a result of the choices of referee John Brooks stoked an indignation in Tottenham that was price not less than one further man and predominantly as a result of they may not do sufficient with the ball. This is not the primary time they’ve discovered themselves hanging on towards 10 males — towards Newcastle, they roared again in additional thrilling vogue — and it appears there’s something that Slot is conscious of that’s making it tougher for Liverpool to impose themselves on groups.
“It is all the time tough. If I attempt to clarify why it’s tough then folks inform me afterwards, ‘you say an excessive amount of to your future opponents.’
“After we had the ball, that was what harm me probably the most. Within the 9 minutes of added time, I feel that they had 95% of the ball. Each time once we had the ball, we kicked it away or we threw it away. It was unbelievable that we could not preserve the ball a bit longer.”
That looks like one other downside on prime of the opposite one which has dogged Slot for many of this season: that his workforce are too simply run via by counterattacking opponents. There have been flashes of that, a breakaway likelihood for 10-man Randal Kolo Muani, however till the late drama, this had extra of the texture of the Inter sport, a match the place Liverpool stuffed the middle to throttle a number of the drama out of proceedings. The logic to that ought to be that when indiscipline from the opponents permits them to use additional management, they flip that into pictures and objectives.
As a substitute, the quasi-diamond of current video games was extra of a lump of coal, all tough edges as Mac Allister discovered himself pushed up alongside Ekitike, Wirtz roaming excessive and low in pursuit of the ball. For this method to be efficient, the fullbacks must be on the prime of their sport. Conor Bradley was struggling along with his radar earlier than his injury-enforced exit on the interval and too lots of Milos Kerkez’s crosses crashed into the primary Tottenham shirt. The left flank specifically by no means bought going and inverting into extra central areas doesn’t appear to be the very best use of Kerkez, a flyer down the road who may supply the width this workforce lacks too usually.
Such are the issues Liverpool made for themselves with their half-billion greenback overhaul of the champions, one which appears to have left them mild on wingers and middle backs whereas overstuffed with gamers who could be happiest within the area between midfield and the frontline. This is perhaps a squad that wants reorienting however when you’ve as a lot expertise as Slot can name upon, there may be all the time the prospect of one thing clicking. Not that, nonetheless.
