A picture speaks one thousand words, goes the saying. In this case, one snapshot talked 125million reasons to be worried.
Alexander Isak had just scored just his second Premier League goal since a £125m move from Newcastle and within seconds collapsed to the canvas, grimacing and holding his leg. The money shot was when he put his shirt over his face.
As he hobbled off the pitch, he was most likely cursing under his breath. The poor lad cannot buy a break. And now, if this injury is as bad as his facial expression made it look, he could be dealt another almighty setback on his road to full fitness.
The word on Saturday evening was that he will be sent for scans to determine the extent of the lower-leg injury and goalkeeper Alisson insists he ‘thinks he will be OK’, which is a huge positive sign.
Some fans had feared this was the sort of blow that could rule out Isak for several weeks if not months.
But let’s park any anxieties for another day. There is a situation that could see him brush it off and be back for the home meeting with Wolves in a week and another that is not worth Liverpool supporters worrying about over their Christmas dinners.
Alexander Isak can’t catch a break at Anfield, suffering injury after just his second league goal
The British record signing fell in anguish after scoring, caught by Spurs star Micky van de Ven
Despite the injury, Isak’s 55th-minute strike gave a glimpse or reminder of what he can do
What can be the talk of the dinner tables in the next week, though, is that in a 14-minute cameo Isak finally showed he can be the man Liverpool bought for all that money.
In his first nearly four months as a Reds player, he has flopped. ‘We have signed him for six years, not six months’ is Arne Slot’s way of looking at it and that, of course, is absolutely correct. He will soon show the world what he is about.
His 55th-minute strike, though, gave a glimpse or reminder of what he can do.
Wirtz class arrives in time for Christmas
Isak received the ball midway in the Tottenham half, played a clever pass and made a dart into the penalty area before wriggling into a shooting position.
Florian Wirtz picked him out with a clever disguised pass and that was that. Wirtz and Isak, all £241m of that duo, combined to lethal effect. When the pair signed in the summer, fans would have expected to see that week in, week out.
The fact they had to wait until five days before Christmas for Wirtz to assist Isak in the Premier League would have shocked many but it is better late than never, as they say. The only thing to thwart that would be if Isak’s injury is as sinister as it may have looked.
But regardless of that, Wirtz is finally showing why he was signed to so much fanfare. OK, let’s not go over the top, there are still several levels for the German to climb before he reaches the heights he hit at Bayer Leverkusen.
Florian Wirtz’s class shone through in the 2-1 win, marking one of his best displays at Liverpool
He is, though, on the right trajectory. He is picking up the ball in little pockets of space, pulling defenders into all sorts of places they would rather not be with clever runs and finding his team-mates with punchy passes.
Now all he needs is that first goal for the club…
Forgotten Frimpong offers something new
Jeremie Frimpong, like Isak, was substituted on and then later taken off with an injury but his problem is a busted lip – why did the referee not stop the game? – rather than anything that will cause any lasting damage.
The Dutch full back signed to much acclaim in late May, trailing the path from Bayer Leverkusen to Liverpool before his good mate Wirtz followed a month or so later.
Speaking to anyone who knew Frimpong well at the time spoke of a player who would change the whole dynamic of Arne Slot’s team with his energetic and creative style up and down that right flank.
But we have barely seen him. He has suffered two hamstring injuries and the most recent one saw him ruled out for the best part of two months with the Dutchman finally back today, as Daily Mail Sport revealed would happen a week ago.
Frimpong, 25, is a unique full back. Across his last two seasons in Germany, he scored 19 goals and assisted 24. Those are astonishing numbers that we should not underestimate. He registered one for Liverpool here with a clever ball into Hugo Ekitike.
It was not a perfect performance and some moments can be filed under ‘rustiness’ after a couple of months on the sidelines but Frimpong showed Slot that he can offer something that others do not.
Jeremie Frimpong offers something new on the right flank after coming back from injury
Goal-scoring is the most valuable currency for strikers, and Hugo Ekitike has shown why
At this juncture, it is worth pointing out fellow right back Conor Bradley put in a solid defensive performance in the first half before going off injured. Both Frimpong and his Northern Irish colleague are good right backs with different skill sets.
The main thing now is getting them both fit.
Ekitike shows why goals are more valuable than touches
Ekitike barely had a sniff for the whole first half and was not half as influential as he has been in recent weeks. But he scored and his tally now stands at five goals across the last three league games.
It shows that although he is a No 9 who does everything – link-up play, off-the-ball running, clever passes, drifting out wide – he can put in a performance similar to one of his inspirations Erling Haaland.
The Norwegian is oft-criticised for ghosting through games and not really influencing proceedings. It is all forgotten about when the Manchester City machine finds the back of the net to win his side the game, though.
Similar can be true of Ekitike, who said earlier this season: ‘If I can add a little bit in my game it would be from (Haaland’s) game. He’s able to do things without touching the ball much during the game, and it’s really impressive. So yes, he’s definitely someone I’m looking at.’
Ekitike is an all-round forward but it always helps when you know where the goal is, too. His headed finish here was a right-place-at-the-right-time, typical poachers’ goal.
