Liverpool
Slot: Isak and Salah are adapting to a new system, not in crisis
Slot rejects alarm over Isak and Salah, blaming adaptation to a new system and match minutes. early.
Arne Slot has downplayed concerns over Alexander Isak and Mohamed Salah, insisting the perceived dip in form stems from adaptation to a new system and disrupted minutes rather than a fundamental problem. Liverpool remain top of the Premier League, but questions over individual output dominated the manager’s press conference ahead of Saturday’s trip to Chelsea.
Salah has three goals and three assists from nine games across all competitions, a long way short of the output he reached last season when he recorded 29 goals and 18 assists in the Premier League alone. Slot argued the decline in open-play goals began in the second half of last season and is related to how opponents set up.
“I see the same as the second part of last season, where he scored 12 goals, five from penalties [and] one from a set-piece, so six open-play goals,” Slot reflected. “He is part of a team that faces different opposition than the first half of last season. To make that maybe a little bit more of an insight, if you compare how we won the away game against Man Utd, where they tried to play out from the back and we took the ball off them three times, to how United played at Anfield, where [André] Onana only went long, then that is one of the answers why it is more difficult for us to score open-play goals.
“Mo has a part of this, already you could see this in the second half of last season and the first part of this season. But now you are focused on Mo, the next time you are focused on Florian [Wirtz] then you are focused on Cody [Gakpo]… what I’m trying to say is we don’t score as many open-play goals anymore as we did in the first part of last season. This is something we work very hard on.
Slot highlighted Isak’s limited minutes after a truncated pre-season and time away from the squad. “I said to him when he started that the difficult thing will be you will have your appearances, but if you add the minutes together, [he] probably only had two or three 90-minute games,” Slot explained. “That is what we inherited from the situation of him not being with the team in Newcastle and we knew this before, so it’s not an excuse.
“He already scored a goal, he gets fitter and fitter, but the main thing is he adjusts to his teammates and the teammates adjust to him. The more he plays together, the better things will work. He had a great counter movement in the [Crystal] Palace game , where in the end the midfielder didn’t see that and he already played the ball to the right. If he would have seen it, he would have been one-on-one to the goalkeeper. So, these are things you get if you play more together.
Slot also addressed criticism of Ibrahima Konaté, noting errors have been shared across the squad and stressing a measured assessment of performance. “What I think is if you are losing a game of football, as we did against Galatasaray and against Palace, then it doesn’t help if you lose a ball a few times very easily,” the Reds boss concluded. “He has been one of them, definitely not the only one because against Galatasaray I think apart from the penalty they created three or four moments and all three or four from us losing a very simple ball without any pressure, which happened to him once in the Crystal Palace game and once against Galatasaray.
“If you then lose a game of football, there’s so much focus on that moment and then all of a sudden [the] 90 minutes have been very, very poor, which is not the way I analyse a game. Especially not afterwards where I have the time to analyse, to watch it one more time, and see what we did well and what we did wrong.
“In the last two games, it has been obvious and clear we’ve made a few errors, not only him but also others, that we’re not used to. If you do things people are not used to and you lose a game a football then normally he, other ones and the manager gets criticised.”
Bayern Munich
Olise transfer interest intensifies as Liverpool join Chelsea and Manchester City in chase
Liverpool face competition from Chelsea and Manchester City for Michael Olise amid Bayern talks soon.
Bayern Munich winger Michael Olise has become the focus of fresh transfer interest from multiple Premier League clubs, with Liverpool among the teams linked alongside Chelsea and Manchester City. German outlet BILD state Liverpool are “especially keen” to strike a deal worth €100 million (£87.1 million, $117.4 million) to sign Olise next summer.
Liverpool were reported last month to be viewing Olise as a potential long-term replacement for Mohamed Salah and may seek to exploit contract discussions that have been described as a source of tension for Bayern. When Olise left Palace in 2024, Chelsea and City were already known suitors, with Chelsea believing they had secured a deal 12 months earlier. His form in the Bundesliga has only bolstered his market appeal.
Unlike the situation surrounding striker Harry Kane, where a release clause is driving interest, no such clause exists in Olise’s contract, leaving Bayern firmly in control of any transfer decision. Bayern officials are preparing a new contract proposal that would include a substantial pay rise, a measure intended to curb speculation and secure his services long term.
Olise’s current agreement runs until 2029, and Bayern have a policy of allowing players to approach the end of their deals if they judge an extension remains possible. They are not under immediate pressure to sell in 2026 unless the typically subdued Olise decides to kick up a fuss.
“As far as interest from other clubs goes, we’re completely relaxed,” CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen insisted recently. Bayern will nonetheless aim to resolve the matter before talks escalate, and a high-value contract offer would be the most direct way to end the rumours and reassert control over the winger’s future.
Liverpool
Dalglish and Völler Call for Patience as Wirtz Navigates Early Liverpool Setbacks
Dalglish and Völler urge patience as Florian Wirtz faces criticism and changing roles at Liverpool..
Florian Wirtz has faced a difficult start at Liverpool but two respected figures have urged calm as criticism grows. Sir Kenny Dalglish and Rudi Völler have both offered public backing after Jamie Carragher suggested the summer signing should be removed from the team.
The Germany international began the season as Liverpool’s No. 10 before losing his place for the Merseyside derby against Everton. He returned on the left wing for the match against Crystal Palace and was restored to a central role for Tuesday’s defeat to Galatasaray.
Carragher warned there is an obvious problem in finding the right balance. “He has got plenty of time to go as a Liverpool player, but right now I think he needs to come out of the team,” the retired star warned, “…[for] Liverpool go back to what they were last season and then go from there and build some confidence, build some defensive solidity. Right now. it is a mess.”
Dalglish, asked about Wirtz, urged the player not to overthink the situation and said he sees the qualities that will succeed in time. “The first thing he needs to do is what he’s doing at the moment,” Dalglish said. “He’s great at taking the ball into the feet, he’ll open himself up and the pass has beat you but he’s still got control of it. Or he’ll take it the other way back past you to go that way and you’re going this way. He can see what’s in front of him, and once he gets it…”
Dalglish pointed to the potential partnership with Alexander Isak, noting conversations and training work as the foundation for on-field understanding. “I saw Isak the other day, the second half when he came on [against Everton] I think, and he’s talking to one of the boys about his movement, what he would do. And [Wirtz] is listening to him and once they get on the same wavelength… “By the way, that wee fella [Wirtz], he could open a can of soup [with his foot].” He added: “It could happen right away [for Wirtz and Isak]. For Rushy, it was training for us,” the Scot replied. “We did it in training, so that’s where you learn it first, isn’t it?”
The arrival of other summer signings has influenced the debate. Hugo Ekitiké has adapted more smoothly, and his avoidable red card against Southampton followed over-jubilant celebrations after scoring a late winner. That comparison has fed social media pressure on Wirtz.
Völler, who knows Wirtz well, urged the player to ignore outside noise. “Florian shouldn’t let himself get carried away [with what people say]. I have no concerns about that… he’ll show the English what he’s made of,” Völler told BILD.
Liverpool
Alisson Injury Update: Timeline and Implications for Liverpool
Alisson withdrawn in Istanbul; Slot ruled him out for Chelsea and fears a serious running injury. –
Liverpool’s evening in the Champions League was soured when goalkeeper Alisson was forced off injured in the second half in Istanbul. He had earlier produced a low save to deny Victor Osimhen but did not return after going to the floor.
The Brazilian has been central to Liverpool’s recent success, having been the man between the posts as the Reds claimed their second Premier League title during Arne Slot’s debut season. With Alisson now entering the final year of his contract and Liverpool having signed Valencia’s highly-rated Giorgi Mamardashvili, there had been tentative speculation about the goalkeeper’s future this summer.
Liverpool have generally coped with his absences, with Caoimhín Kelleher stepping up in recent years, and the club will now look to Mamardashvili after this latest setback. It has not yet been established what exactly is wrong with Alisson following his enforced substitution.
Slot suggested the issue occurred as the goalkeeper sprinted back during play rather than during the save. He said: “When he sprinted back he felt something. I cannot tell you [exactly] because I am not a physio, but normally when a player when he sprints back, feels something, goes to the floor and doesn’t come back onto the pitch [it’s not good].
“If my player is on the floor, I nine out of 10 times fear the worst—and by the worst I mean he cannot continue. That’s what happened with Alisson,” he said (via Liverpool’s official website ).
Slot has already ruled his goalkeeper out of Saturday’s Premier League clash against Chelsea, and the club will assess how long Alisson will be sidelined. He missed more than 40 games owing to three separate hamstring injuries over the previous two seasons, and Slot’s observation that the problem arose while running raises the possibility of a similar issue.
