2 weeks ago
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Liverpool's players will be making their way back to Merseyside over the next couple of days as they get back down to domestic business, having endured contrasting fortunes over the international break.
The Reds return to action in the Premier League on Sunday as Manchester United visits Anfield, with Arne Slot looking to get his side back to winning ways after a three-game losing streak.
The international break definitely came at a good time for Liverpool, although some players fared much better than others as they reported for duty with their countries. Some managed to strengthen their nations' World Cup hopes and picked up some much-needed form, while others continued to struggle or added to Slot's injury worries.
Liverpool.com has taken a look at the Reds' winners and losers during the international break as the players return to training at the AXA Training Centre this week...
Winners
Much has been made of Mohamed Salah's place in the side recently, with the 33-year-old not having had the best of starts to the season - although he's far from alone on that front.
When Salah doesn't play well though, Liverpool is a much poorer side, so the Reds will be eager for their talisman to get back to his best as soon as possible. They'll be happy to have seen him score twice for Egypt, then, in the 3-0 win over Djibouti that secured the Pharaohs' place at next year's World Cup.
As an added bonus, Salah was rested for Egypt's second game against Guinea-Bissau, meaning he should be raring to go against United this weekend.
Elsewhere, it was a brilliant week for Cody Gakpo, who scored three goals across the Netherlands' wins over Malta and Finland, making it three consecutive games in which he has found the back of the net after also scoring in the defeat to Chelsea.
Dominik Szoboszlai has been one of Liverpool's better performers so far this season, and his good form continues as he proved to be Hungary's hero against Portugal, grabbing a stoppage-time equalizer to spoil Cristiano Ronaldo's party.
The last Red to play during the break was Alexis Mac Allister, and the midfielder didn't disappoint as he scored twice in Argentina's friendly win over Puerto Rico, easing some of the doubts over his form so far in the process.
Losers
The international break couldn't have gone much worse for Alexander Isak and Sweden. The striker played 90 minutes in both of his country's qualifiers against Switzerland and Kosovo, but fired blanks on both occasions.
Two more defeats now leaves Isak's hopes of reaching next year's World Cup hanging by a thread, with Sweden manager Jon Dahl Tomasson paying for his side's dismal form by being fired just hours after the Kosovo loss.
Florian Wirtz and Germany had more success with wins over Luxembourg and Northern Ireland, but Liverpool's summer signing didn't exactly answer any questions over his recent struggles after two more underwhelming performances.
By the same token, more concerns have been raised about Milos Kerkez despite Hungary's productive break, with Hungarian media bemoaning his "disappointing" and "confused" performances against Armenia and Portugal.
Giorgi Mamardashvili will probably be glad to see the back of the international break. The goalkeeper went from villain to hero when he gave away a penalty against Spain, only to then save Ferran Torres' spot-kick, but it was a bad week overall as he conceded six goals across two games, including a 4-1 defeat to Turkey.
And even without playing, Ibrahima Konate has managed to raise concerns after being sent home early by France with a quad injury, while Ryan Gravenberch's early withdrawal in the Netherlands' win over Finland will have Slot worried ahead of United's visit.
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