The Reds may be 11 points clear at the top of the Premier League table, but they could unquestionably do with a striker like the Swede
A delighted Andy Robertson said after Liverpool’s 2-0 win at Manchester City on Sunday, “This afternoon couldn’t have gone much better.” And the Scotland left-back had a point.
Arne Slot’s tactical tweaks for the game at the Etihad worked a treat, with his decision to play a striker-less system featuring two No.10s (Curtis Jones and Dominik Szoboszlai) in between regular wingers Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah playing a pivotal role in the Reds recording their first clean sheet in the Premier League for five games.
Jones and Szoboszlai worked tirelessly all afternoon, making life incredibly uncomfortable for City’s players with their constant pressing while also carrying a threat on the counter-attack. Just like Salah, Szoboszlai both scored and created a goal during one of his most impressive performances to date for Liverpool, who took full advantage of Arsenal’s loss at West Ham the day before to move 11 points clear of the second-placed Gunners at the top of the table.
However, the mere fact that Slot fielded a team without an orthodox centre-forward highlighted his squad’s lack of reliable No.9 and, on Wednesday at Anfield, Alexander Isak has another opportunity to show why he could be the missing link in Liverpool’s attack.