The striker was named in the starting line-up for Liverpool’s Champions League clash against PSG, but Arne Slot revealed he is still not yet firing on all cylinders following his injury absence
19:26, 14 Apr 2026Updated 21:27, 14 Apr 2026
Arne Slot said Alexander Isak is unlikely to last much more than 45 minutes of Liverpool’s Champions League clash against PSG(Image: Getty Images)
Arne Slot has revealed that Alexander Isak is unlikely to play much more than 45 minutes in Liverpool’s Champions League quarterfinal tie against Paris Saint-Germain.
The striker was a shock inclusion in the line-up for the second leg at Anfield, his first in nearly four months. Isak returned last week following a long period of rehabilitation from a broken leg sustained just days before Christmas.
He came off the bench in the first leg of the crucial European tie in Paris, and then again against Fulham on Saturday. It was expected that Isak would be included among the substitutes again at Anfield on Tuesday, but he was selected in the starting XI, while Mohamed Salah and Rio Ngumoha were overlooked.
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But, as he works his way back to full fitness, Slot said the former Newcastle forward will last little more than half of the game.
Speaking to Amazon Prime about the decision to start Isak and Hugo Ekitike alongside each other, Slot said: “If you include [Florian] Wirtz to that, it is only 88 minutes they play together.
“The thinking is that, as we all know, we need to score goals, and there are goals in these players. They are two target men, two players we can play into.
Isak returned to the team last week(Image: Getty Images)
“They can score goals, as I just said, and as you might not know, Alex will not be able to play much more than 45 minutes.
“If you have to bring him with the possibility of extra time, then it makes sense for me to start.”
The decision to drop Salah will split opinion, while there were calls for Ngumoha to start after his weekend heroics.
Asked whether the pair will be good options to turn to off the bench, Slot replied: “And I can look at Cody Gakpo and other players on the bench.”
On the approach to the game, Slot added: “We need to do a few things really well, but I don’t think it’s that much about tactical this time.
“First of all, if you want to have the ball against them, it is never going to be easy, so you have to match their intensity off the ball.
“We will need to be top in that because last week, every time we tried to press them high, they were able to play through us.
“Now, hopefully, the Anfield factor can play a part.”
