Why Alexander Isak fell to his knees at what Mo Salah did vs Man Utd
Alexander Isak and his surrounding Liverpool teammates were left in a state of shock at one Mo Salah miss.
The Egyptian international, historically a heroic figure in clashes with Manchester United, somehow failed to bring the Reds level in the second half of action.
United’s Bryan Mbeumo had opened the scoring, after a Virgil van Dijk error, in the opening minute of action in the first half.
Alexander Isak reacts to Mo Salah miss vs Man Utd
Florian Wirtz clapped his hands to his mouth.
Fellow summer signing Alexander Isak was spotted falling to his knees in slow-motion.
Legendary Liverpool forward Mo Salah had missed the chance of all chances against Senne Lammens in the second half.
Footage from Sky Sports showed the number 11 picking up the ball just outside the six-yard box – unmarked in acres of space – before firing the ball off target into the crowd.
Mo Salah passes up a big opportunity to level the scoring! pic.twitter.com/HAqWLe1crV
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 19, 2025
Don’t get us wrong, Salah has hardly been the only Liverpool forward to have apparently mislaid his scoring boots.
Both Isak and Cody Gakpo have been guilty of missing clear goalscoring opportunities either side of the half-time break.
Mo Salah stats | Cody Gakpo stats | Alexander Isak stats |
1 big chance missed | 1 big chance missed | 1 big chance missed |
0.40 non-penalty expected goals (xG) | 1.55 non-penalty expected goals (xG) | 0.34 non-penalty expected goals (xG) |
9 touches in opposition box | 10 touches in opposition box | 4 touches in opposition box |
Liverpool forwards let Arne Slot down at Anfield
Whichever way you look at it, a 2-1 defeat at home to Manchester United – at home to THIS Manchester United – is unacceptable.
The fact that we’ve had an international break to separate what had been a three-game losing streak arguably makes this even worse.
In seasons gone by, Liverpool could always count on the fact that at least one or two forwards would be switched on enough to see the chances through to fruition.
But it seems like every forward available to Arne Slot is suffering from chronic inefficiency, which arguably overshadows Liverpool’s defensive concerns at the other end of the pitch.
We should have secured the lion’s share of the points, the stats indicated we deserved as much.
Liverpool stats | Manchester United stats |
2.76 expected goals (xG) | 1.26 expected goals (xG) |
19 shots (6 on target) | 12 shots (4 on target) |
5 big chances | 5 big chances |
4 big chances missed | 3 big chances missed |
* Liverpool vs Manchester United stats (19/10/2025), via Fotmob
But we can’t keep turning to the stats, game after game, and wondering why the end product and, ultimately the results aren’t quite matching up.
Disappointing, yet again.
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The post Why Alexander Isak fell to his knees at what Mo Salah did vs Man Utd appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.