0 duels won, only 5 touches: Liverpool starter has been utterly invisible vs Everton

Alexander Isak struggled to make any impact in the first half of Liverpool’s trip to Everton.

The Sweden international was isolated for much of the first 45, registering only five touches as the Reds took a 1-0 lead via Mo Salah.

The Merseysiders pay a visit to the Hill Dickinson Stadium in search of a valuable three points in their bid to retain Champions League football.

Alexander Isak struggling to get into the action

To give credit where credit is due, it’s perhaps not a game particularly well-suited to getting the best out of Liverpool’s record-breaking striker signing.

Adam Bate reported for Sky Sports: “Probably no coincidence that it’s Isak and Wirtz, the Liverpool newcomers to a Merseyside derby away from home, who are struggling the most.”

Fellow Sky commentator Chris Sutton agreed: “Isak has been on the periphery of the game.

“The 45 minutes in the week would have done him a bit of good but fair to say, not up to the pace.”

It’s worth additionally noting that Isak has only picked up 859 minutes of action this term – a fraction of his injured teammate Hugo Ekitike (2,872 minutes).

So, we perhaps shouldn’t be expecting the world out of the 26-year-old, certainly not at this late stage in the campaign.

It very much feels like we’re just building up our No.9 for a hopefully promising finish to the 2025/26 season that can safely feed into pre-season action.

What do the stats say about Isak’s Liverpool performance?

Make no mistake, the former Newcastle hitman is a different kind of attacker to Ekitike.

We’re unlikely to see Alexander Isak dropping deep to pick up possession or flying out wide on the left.

And coming back from a serious injury against one of the most compact, well-organised opponents in the Premier League is hardly conducive to giving the forward the space and time he needs to get back into the groove.

On that basis, you can understand why Jamie Carragher was a little hesitant about Isak being included in the starting lineup.

Still, it’s hard not to feel a little disappointed, even bearing in mind reasonable mitigating circumstances.

* Alexander Isak’s first-half stats vs Everton in the Premier League (Fotmob)

We know we’re going to see the best out of Isak eventually – he’s far too talented a footballer for him to turn out to be a disappointment at L4.

But we’re just going to have to be patient from here on out.