Isak injury in chaotic Liverpool win gives Slot more problems

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It was meant to be the moment that finally kick-started the season for Alexander Isak.Liverpool's £125m signing had come off the bench and finished wonderfully past Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario to give Arne Slot's side the lead.On the touchline, Slot was ecstatic after seeing Isak combine with Florian Wirtz, who got his first Premier League assist after signing for £116m in the summer.With Mohamed Salah in Morocco on Africa Cup of Nations duty and Cody Gakpo out with injury, here was a glimpse of Liverpool's future. And the first sign of a connection between Liverpool's two record signings.Yet within seconds, that joy turned to concern as Isak lay on the floor in agony after Micky van de Ven's tackle.

Either way, two players that Slot subbed on failed to finish the game.In the end, Hugo Ekitike's goal ensured Liverpool held on to yet another crucial victory but they almost blew it against the nine men of Tottenham, who had both Xavi Simons and Cristian Romero sent off."A masterclass on how not to manage the final 10 minutes" was the verdict of Jamie Redknapp on Sky Sports. Slot himself admitted that it was far from ideal."It's unbelievable if you play against nine men that I would not be surprised if for the nine minutes of added time, they had the ball for eight and a half.

A far cry from the control they showed during the majority of last season."We didn't keep the ball when we had the ball. It became very chaotic and hectic," added Slot.Chaotic and hectic has very much been the way for Liverpool this season but the title holders can take some satisfaction from the fact that after a torrid run of nine defeats in 12, they will go into Christmas level with Chelsea, who are 4th."Overall, we had good control over the game," Slot said.