Arne Slot admitted he was pleasantly surprised by Alexander Isak’s fitness after the striker made his Liverpool debut in the thrilling 3-2 Champions League win over Atletico Madrid on Wednesday night.
The £125m British record signing started for the Reds as the defending Premier League champions surrendered a two-goal lead. Andy Robertson and Mo Salah had put Liverpool in control before Marcos Llorente’s double pulled Atletico level. But Virgil van Dijk rose in stoppage time to seal a dramatic victory at Anfield.
For Slot, who turned 47 on the night, Isak’s display exceeded his expectations.
“Particularly because I think in the 60 minutes he played, he seemed to be quite fit to me – so it wasn’t as if, after 10 minutes, he was already very tired,” he said after the match.
“He could just play at this level quite well so that was the most positive thing – and that he can play football, and that he’s a joy to watch. That is not a surprise to me, but he was maybe fitter than I expected.”
The gaffer added: “I was positively surprised by how fit he was. I was not surprised by the quality but it is always nice to see when a player starts how he started. It was a good start but only 60 minutes.”
Attention now turns to the Merseyside derby against Everton at Anfield on Saturday. However, Slot refused to confirm whether Isak would start again.
“You can tell (Everton boss) David (Moyes) he is not going to play 90 minutes. I’m really happy he could start today. That’s why we didn’t play him against Burnley.
“He was good today and when Hugo (Ekitike) came in, he was a big factor also. We have two great No 9s and we’re going to use them, both of them, throughout the whole period they’re here.”
Liverpool’s newest star may have only played an hour, but his debut left fans and manager alike eager to see more as the season gathers pace.
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