Liverpool spent more than £450m on new signings this summer but have struggled to build working relationships with Alexander Isak, Mohamed Salah and other players.
Michael Owen has helped Mohamed Salah and Alexander Isak shine for Liverpool despite the Merseysiders’ dip in form before the international break.
The Reds dropped to second place for the first time since September 2024 after losing 2-1 away to Chelsea. Estevao’s late goal gave the Reds their third straight defeat and they came close to Crystal Palace’s Eddie Nketiah’s last winning goal.
Arne Slott’s side also lost 1-0 away to Galatasaray in the Champions League. They trail Arsenal by one point and will face Manchester United when the Premier League resumes this weekend.
read more: Liverpool News: Klopp reveals his feelings towards Wirtz as Gerrard sparks outrageread more: Martin Zvimendi claims he was forced to reject Liverpool over two transfers before encouraging Arsenal
After a big-money summer, the reigning champions are heating up. As well as breaking the Premier League transfer record and signing Isak for £125m, they also brought in Florian Wirtz (£116m), Hugo Ekitike (£79m), Milos Kerkes (£40m), Jeremy Frimpong (£29.5m) and Giovanni Leoni (£26m).
Many questions are being asked about the new players and the performance of current star man Salah, who has yet to reach the heights of last season. All in all, Owen is not worried, ignoring talk of a “minor crisis” in favor of signing a new contract going forward.
Speaking on behalf of Casino.co.uk, Owen said: “We are looking at their forwards on a case-by-case basis. Mo Salah is clearly not at his best at the moment, but we can’t ignore him by any means.”
“He’s still healthy, injury-free, and has been playing at the top level for years. There’s no doubt, there’s no doubt in everyone’s mind that he’ll be back in the game very soon.
“Kodi Gakpo has been playing well and showed some good signs last season. As for Ugo Ekitike, he is probably my pick of the new players. I think he is doing very well.”
“Alexander Isak is coming back after not having much of a pre-season, so he’s going to be in and out of the starting lineup, trying to get sharp and fit. If I were wearing a fan’s hat, I’d be relaxed overall.”
“Obviously we’ll be disappointed with Chelsea’s defeat, but Stamford Bridge is a difficult place to go to and it’s never easy. I certainly don’t remember winning there as a player.”
“That game could have gone either way and it’s not that Liverpool played badly. I don’t think I’ll be as excited or concerned about this game as some people think.”
Highlighting the team’s overall form, the Ballon d’Or winner added: “The case with Liverpool is interesting. If you had talked to me before the defeat, I would have said: ‘Great start, five wins out of five in the Premier League and one out of one in the Champions League.’
“After three losses, all of a sudden it feels like a ‘mini-crisis’, at least that’s what people call it. It just shows how fickle football is and how quickly things can change.”
“They just have to make sure they win the next game and bounce back from there. Then people will focus on other things again.”
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