Liverpool boss Arne Slot hailed Alexander Isak’s “important” first Premier League goal for the club after the champions finally halted their alarming slump with a 2-0 win at West Ham on Sunday. The £125m record signing, under pressure after a quiet start on Merseyside, smashed home a sharp opener at the London Stadium before Cody Gakpo wrapped it up deep into stoppage time.
Isak had gone five league games without a goal since arriving from Newcastle in September, his only previous strike coming in the League Cup. With Liverpool losing nine of their last 12 in all competitions, the Swede’s moment felt like a release of tension as much as a finish.
Slot, who looked visibly relieved at full time, admitted the goal arrived at just the right moment, both for the team and for the striker. “It’s very important for us as a team that we went 1–0 up, but it was also important for him,” the Dutchman said. “I think it was his third or fourth chance of this game. I don’t think there was much more than ten minutes in him to go, so to score before he come off was massive.”
The manager also made the bold call to drop Mohamed Salah, a move that raised eyebrows across the league. It was the first time the Egyptian superstar hasn’t started a Premier League match since April 2024 also away at West Ham. Back then he came on late; this time he didn’t feature at all, with Hugo Ekitike arriving instead after Isak’s strike.
Slot insisted there was no drama behind the decision. “Mo has had an unbelievable career here and will have a very good future at this club because he’s such a special player,” he said. “But we’ve got four games in ten days and only 14 or 15 outfield players available. Sometimes you have to pick a line up that fits the moment.”
The win lifts some of the gloom around Anfield, easing pressure before a hectic run of festive fixtures. Liverpool stay in the hunt near the top end of the table, and with Isak finally off the mark in the league, Slot will hope this was the night the champions turned a messy period into something more stable.
