Alexander Isak has admitted he is still building towards 100 per cent fitness after his second Premier League start for Liverpool also ended in defeat in Saturday’s 2-1 loss to Chelsea. Isak sealed a £125million switch from Newcastle United on deadline day (September 1) after missing out on a proper pre-season at St James’ Park due to refusing to train or play for the Magpies.
Following an injury that ruled him out of Newcastle’s Far East tour in July, Isak trained with former club Real Sociedad without the Magpies’ management’s consent. He was made to train in isolation upon his return to Tyneside. Since joining Liverpool, the 26-year-old has been following a specific fitness regime devised by Arne Slot and his conditioning team at the AXA Training Centre.
The Reds’ manager recently acknowledged that the No. 9 won’t be considered completely match-ready until after the October international break. Isak played a part in Liverpool’s equaliser at Stamford Bridge, setting up Cody Gakpo’s leveller with a clever touch, and reflecting on his 74-minute outing in the capital, the striker commented: “I feel good.
“I’ve been working hard to get back to my best and I’m still working to get to my best form. It was good to play out there again. I was hoping for a different result but we’ll keep working. I’m very excited for the whole season ahead.
“Game by game we have to improve of course if we want to achieve the things we want to. But yeah, really excited [for the Manchester United game]. I think we started off pretty badly and we worked our way into the game pretty well.
“We came out second half and really gave everything to get a result. In the end, it’s obviously tough conceding in the last minute like that. We were speaking [about] details in our press and also on the ball, the spaces to find to be able to hurt them.
“I think we created chances, enough to score and it just wasn’t enough today. In the same way that winning like this is the best feeling, it’s the worst to lose in this type of way. It’s pretty normal. We just have to keep working hard, bounce back and get back to winning ways.
“I think the belief is there that we can [improve results]. This team has shown that many times. It’s never easy of course, but hard work and working on details and getting back to our best – we have that belief.”