Alexander Isak: Liverpool striker suffers groin injury in Eintracht Frankfurt win, Arne Slot confirms | Football news

Arne Slot has confirmed that Alexander Isak was substituted at half-time of Liverpool's 5-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt due to a groin injury.

The striker started alongside Hugo Ekitike in Germany, but his night ended at the break as he was replaced by Federico Chiesa.

Isak's form has come under scrutiny since his £125million move from Newcastle in the summer, having only scored in the Carabao Cup for his new side.

After the Champions League encounter – which ended a run of four defeats – Reds boss Slot confirmed Isak was out due to injury.

He said TNT Sports: “Alexandre had to come out at half-time because he felt a bit in his groin. It’s a shame.

“I’ve said it many times, it’s such a difficult balance to find with a player who’s missed three months.

“You move slowly with him and people argue to play him longer. We've now played him for the second time in three days and unfortunately he's had to go.

“Hopefully everything works out for the best, but it’s not an easy balance to strike when a player has been out for so long.”

He then added in his press conference: “Today, with Alex and Hugo, I brought on the pitch two players who are usually capable of scoring goals. Alex was several times close but had to come off at half-time.

“Normally you try to prepare players for football once a week, but if you are at Liverpool you play every three days or normally three times in eight days, but we have been unlucky this season, we have to play three times in seven days.

“We tried to prepare him for this, we were very careful and he was fully fit when he came back from the national team before the United game.

“We thought he was well prepared for this, but the margins at the top are small. Hopefully it won't be that bad, because if he's out for a few weeks it will bring him back. So let's wait.”

Starting with Alexander Isak on Wednesday, Ekitike added: “I think it was good. It wasn't our best half together, but we can improve together.

“He is a very good player and over time we will have to work together and find a good association. The connections will come and then it will work.”

Right-back Jérémie Frimpong's stop-start campaign also continued after he was ruled out for “a few weeks” with a hamstring injury, which saw him replaced by Conor Bradley in the first half.

Slot: We needed a win

Slot was relieved after the Frankfurt defeat and added insight into the differences between the game in Germany and their previous four defeats.

He added to TNT Sports: “We needed a win. What we needed more was another performance where we created a lot of chances but the players were rewarded with a win. That's what happened.

“I saw a lot of similarities to the other games because the first chance they had was a goal – that was maybe the only chance they had – and we were leading 3-1, and maybe it's easier to control a game when you're leading 3-1 than if you're down 1-0 or 2-1.

“But the main difference between this game and the previous four was that in most of them the other team scored from set pieces and this time we scored from two set pieces.

“Then people focused more on the attacks we had in the second half rather than the misplaced passes, which we probably had too. But when you're up 3-1 you're judged differently.”

Ekitike: I wouldn't be here without Frankfurt

It was a quick return to Frankfurt for Ekitike, who joined Liverpool from the Bundesliga club in the summer. He also scored, refusing to celebrate afterwards, and credited Frankfurt with making him the player he is today.

“I had to [score]” he said TNT Sports. “It was a great feeling and it was something special for me to come back, I would say home.

“I know everyone here, so it was a special match for me and to win and score my first goal in the Champions League, I'm really happy.

“I have so much respect for them. They made me the player I am now, I wouldn't be here if I hadn't come to Frankfurt.

“So I come and I'm respectful and grateful for what they gave me. I will carry with me what I learned here and the value they gave me in the future.”

Van Dijk: It's not a statement, but it's a victory

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk was also on the scoresheet in Germany and said the only way to get back to winning touch was to stay united as a group.

“I don’t know if it’s a statement, but it’s a victory and something to build on,” he said. TNT Sports.

“I've been around football for a while, so I wouldn't say it's a relief. [at winning]but we were disappointed to lose matches.

“I don't think it's happened in my time, losing four times in a row. It's something you have to deal with as a group, stay together, block out the outside noise and keep working.

“The only way to perform in the best way possible is to focus on the task in front of us and play as a team. That's the only way to win matches.

“We obviously have the individual quality, otherwise you wouldn't play for Liverpool, but you have to do it together to succeed. So keep going and don't get drawn into that sort of thing. [outside noise].

“Today we won. We have three points on the board, now we recover and prepare for Brentford.”