Liverpool had a mixed night on Tuesday as they progressed to the Carabao Cup fourth round.
The Reds had always been expected to make it through, but made hard work of it against Championship side Southampton.
The night was also marred by a couple of very big negatives for Liverpool. Firstly, Giovanni Leoni was stretchered off with what looks like a bad injury.
Arne Slot gave an update on Leoni post-match, and Liverpool will now have to wait to find out the extent of the problem.
The second issue for Slot was that Hugo Ekitike picked up a needless red card after scoring a late winner for the Reds.
Ekitike will be unavailable for Saturday’s match against Crystal Palace, meaning Alexander Isak may need to make a second consecutive start. Asked about this possibility after scoring his first Liverpool goal on Tuesday, the Swede sounded an encouraging note.
Alexander Isak ready to be helpful for Liverpool
Isak’s third appearance for Liverpool had looked likely to be another slightly underwhelming one as half-time approached.
Thankfully, an Alex McCarthy mistake ended that notion in the 43rd minute. His errant pass allowed Federico Chiesa to nip in and square for Isak to score.
It was a big moment for the 26-year-old, and the relief and joy on his face was clear.
Of course, Isak is still getting his fitness back after a summer without playing any football at all. And asked how fit he is in the wake of Ekitike’s sending off, the No. 9 suggested he is feeling better all the time.
“I feel good,” Isak answered. “Every game I play is very helpful and gets me in better shape, so hopefully I’m just getting more and more ready.
“It’s difficult to say [how close to 100% he is], I think it’s a mixture of fitness wise and football wise, but I feel good, I feel like I’m in a shape to at least make a difference.”
Isak explains Hugo Ekitike sending off
The reason Isak may have to be ready to start on Saturday is of course because of Ekitike. Had the Frenchman been available, he would likely have played.
Instead, Slot now has a decision to make over who leads the line at Selhurst Park.
Asked what he made of Ekitike’s moment of confusion, Isak claimed that his strike partner had simply been lost in the moment.
“I’m sure he just wasn’t aware of being on a yellow in that moment,” he said. “It can sometimes be emotional, when you score a goal you’re just in that moment. Of course it’s unfortunate.”
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