Liverpool could look very different post international break after Arne Slot's 'big compliment'

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Arne Slot and Liverpool will have all eyes on Alexander Isak this international break after he only played a brief role for Sweden last monthMark is a Content Editor at Reach PLC's Liverpool Hub, and was appointed to the role in 2025. A regular contributor to podcasts and videos, his work can be seen both in print and online, and his exclusive interview with the Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk in April 2024 is one of many successful projects Mark has completed for Reach PLC.Did Alexander Isak mean that assist for Cody Gakpo at Chelsea?

The nature of how the game ended means that we'll probably never know, as no-one was going to ask the Swede post-match given there were more pressing matters at hand.Willian Estevao's stoppage time winner at Stamford Bridge deepened the sense of gloom around a Liverpool side scratching around for form and fluency, and given that many had ludicrously already decided to anoint the reigning champions as 2025-26's premier team already, there are other stories to be told.As you would have noticed Isak didn't find the net at Chelsea, not the back of it anyway. His header just before half-time from a Mo Salah cross landed on top of Robert Sanchez's goal in the purest link-up the pair had all day.READ MORE: Arne Slot and Mohamed Salah called out as Liverpool legend slams 'desperate' RedsREAD MORE: Virgil van Dijk explains Anthony Taylor conversation as Arne Slot crosses Liverpool lineIsak would end up exiting his sixth Liverpool appearance in the 74th minute, with the previous five clocking in at 58, 23, 45, 84 (when there was no Hugo Ekitike available) and 28 minutes on the pitch, a return which yielded one goal against Southampton in the Carabao Cup.As starts go it isn't spectacular, but then there are number of caveats, the chief pair being that the Swede didn't have a pre-season to speak of and also that he is coming into a side which isn't functioning in the manner that it is supposed to, or probably will do in the weeks and months to come.One of the many great things about football though is that goals can mask a variety of flaws, and in Isak Liverpool possess a proven Premier League goalscorer who surpassed 20 in the division in each of the last two seasons.You would usually say that you simply can't buy those numbers, but Liverpool did, and the quicker Isak can get up to full speed and sharpness and develop and understanding with his new team-mates then the quicker the Reds' troubles could simply be scored away.And with that in mind, Arne Slot and plenty more of a Reds' persuasion should be keeping an eye on Sweden's fixtures during this international break.

Slot already will be, of course.The last time Isak headed off to play for his country was in the immediate aftermath of him signing for Liverpool, and Slot was watching carefully given his concerns over the match fitness of his new most expensive asset.In the event he needn't have worried, as Isak was an unused substitute for a 2-2 draw with Slovenia before then getting 18 minutes, and a yellow card, in a 2-0 loss at Kosovo.“The Swedish manager [Jon Dahl Tomasson] deserves a big compliment because he gets the best striker in the world but understands if he plays 90 minutes twice, he might be injured for a number of weeks, said Slot upon Premier League football's return from that international break. This time around though Slot might well be looking for something else.Sweden will play home World Cup qualifiers against Switzerland in Stockholm and Kosovo in Gothenburg during this international break, with wins very much needed after the aforementioned poor results last month.This time around surely Slot would like to see Sweden start Isak, with the Reds boss doubtless hoping that the increased match fitness and a goal or two will get him in the groove for when he returns to face Manchester United on October 19.There are still issues around this Liverpool side that will not be fixed in a single international break, but anything that gets English football's costliest forward back towards resembling the player we know he is will surely help.A fully flying and scoring Isak would quickly change the narrative around the Reds, and if Sweden can help with that then even more compliments would be heading their way from Merseyside.