Liverpool suffered yet another defeat, their eighth in 11 games across all competitions, as the troubles continue to mount at Anfield. Arne Slot’s side were thrashed 3-0 at the hands of Nottingham Forest, who have now won away to the Reds in two consecutive seasons.
It was a dire performance once again from the Merseysiders, who looked short of any sort of creative ideas and weak at the back. The first goal came from a corner again, with Murillo peeling away into space and picking up a loose ball, which he fired past the returning Alisson to put Forest 1-0 up.
The East Midlands outfit thought they had a second, but Igor Jesus saw his goal disallowed for a contentious handball. Their second came seconds into the second half, with right-back Nicolo Savona ghosting into the penalty box and hammering home from ten yards or so.
Forest captain Morgan Gibbs-White capped off a wonderful day out for his side in the 78th minute. After brilliant play from Omari Hutchinson, he saw his shot saved by Alisson. However, the Brazilian could only palm it into the path of Gibbs-White, who clinically finished to seal the win.
It was another poor showing from the Reds, with Alexander Isak struggling once again.
Alexander Isak’s stats vs. Forest
The start of Isak’s Liverpool career has been very stop-start. He’s missed six games in total, for various reasons, and hasn’t played in the Premier League since the 19th of October.
His return to top-flight action against Forest was disappointing.
The Sweden international, who is still searching for his first Premier League goal in Red, was hooked by Slot after just 68 minutes, with his side still searching for two goals to bring them back into the game.
Indeed, his numbers reflect just how poor a performance it was from Isak. He managed just 15 touches, losing possession seven times, and only had one shot, which accumulated an expected goals tally of 0.13xG.
Touches
15
Number of times ball lost
7
Passes completed
6
Duels won
0/7
Shots
1
Expected goals
0.13xG
One person who was critical of the Liverpool number nine was Goal journalist Stephen Darwin. He gave the Swede a 2/10 for his performance at Anfield, pointing out that he ‘wasn’t even close to breaking his duck’ when it comes to Premier League goals.
However, the blame cannot solely lie with the striker, who didn’t necessarily get the service he needed.
Two players who struggled to get the ball to Isak
One of the key things that Darwin stressed in his review of Isak’s performance was the fact that he ‘hardly had a kick’ of the ball. Of course, 15 touches makes for poor reading, but you still have to provide the ball for your centre-forward.
Two of the players who struggled with exactly that were wingers Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah. Generally speaking, it was not the worst performance, with Salah creating three chances and Gakpo one, although they were sloppy in possession, losing the ball a combined 53 times.
However, it was their service to the Reds centre-forward which was inadequate at best. According to Stats Zone, the Liverpool number ten passes to Isak just three times, and Dutch international Gakpo twice.
That is certainly not the level of service he needs to help him start finding his best form in front of goal. Perhaps it is due to the clash of profiles. Both Salah and Gakpo are inside forwards who like to cut inside, entering similar areas to those Isak operates in.
Alternatively, the problem could simply be a lack of time spent on the pitch with their new teammate. Isak has missed such a large portion of the season that it simply might take some time for the trio to gel.
Regardless, it is a problem Slot must fix quickly. The Reds’ form is a huge concern, as they slip further down the Premier League table. The Dutchman must get his big-money striker and first-choice wingers firing, as they look to rectify this poor form.
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