4 things spotted in Liverpool training as Federico Chiesa shows his true colors

The long wait is nearly over for Liverpool fans, with the Reds back in Premier League action on Sunday as they look to maintain their perfect start to the season at Burnley.

The international break came at a frustrating time for Arne Slot's team, right after a what could prove to be a huge win over Arsenal, and following the deadline day signing of Alexander Isak.

The whole Liverpool squad was back at the AXA Training Centre on Friday though as Slot looks to apply the finishing touches ahead of tomorrow's return to action, with cameras capturing the players' preparations.

Here's a look at what we spotted from Liverpool's training session on Friday...

Isak ready to go

The question on everyone's lips is whether we will see Isak make his Liverpool debut tomorrow at Burnley, and all the evidence would seem to suggest we will.

After mostly training alongside the club's youngsters in his first session earlier in the week, the Reds' newest addition finally got the chance to rub shoulders with the players he'll be expecting to start alongside regularly, including a warm welcome from Virgil van Dijk.

And although he hasn't gotten many minutes of action into the legs this season, the 25-year-old has looked the part in training, and will be hoping to play a part at Turf Moor.

It's more likely we'll see him coming off the bench rather than starting, but Isak is already giving an exciting glimpse of what's to come following his record move from Newcastle.

Slot's headache

Isak will of course make things a little trickier for Slot to decide on his front three, although for the time being, there seems little point in changing what has been a winning formula so far this season.

There is another headache emerging for the Liverpool boss elsewhere in the team though, with the return of Jeremie Frimpong leaving Slot with a difficult decision for tomorrow.

It did seem to be a straight shootout between Frimpong and Conor Bradley for the right-back berth before the start of the season, although Dominik Szoboszlai has complicated matters after his superb showing against Arsenal.

Whether the Hungarian will continue in that position tomorrow remains to be seen, with Slot no doubt keeping a close eye on his right-back options in training.

Chiesa's perfect response

You can't blame Federico Chiesa for not being too happy with Slot's decision to leave him out of Liverpool's Champions League squad for the league phase of the competition. Having seen 17-year-old Rio Ngumoha get in ahead of him, you could almost forgive the Italian if he wasn't really in the mood to train this week.

He has demonstrated a truly commendable level of professionalism though, reporting to the AXA as usual while most of his teammates have been away on international duty.

And with the Liverpool squad now back together, there was no sign of the disappointment Chiesa will no doubt be feeling as he got stuck in, even putting Ngumoha under some pressure as a timely reminder to the teenager.

Despite his omission from the Champions League squad, Chiesa will still have an important role to play in the domestic competitions, and his opportunity may yet come in Europe, having provided the perfect response to Slot in training.

Thumbs up from Mo

It hasn't quite been the start to the campaign many might have expected from Mohamed Salah after last season's stellar showing, with just the one goal and assist so far. After a summer of change though, the Egyptian is still getting to grips with his new strike partners.

"So far I didn't figure the connections out yet," Salah told the Men In Blazers podcast. "Like with Darwin or Lucho or the guys they used to play in front, or Diogo.

"I knew where to start with Diogo or Darwin. I know where to find them. I knew their game very well but with Hugo [Ekitike] he's still new."

Salah though is clearly keen to hit his usual heights again soon, having reportedly taken a private jet following his international duties in order to get back to Merseyside as quickly as possible.

And the 33-year-old was maintaining his high standards as he reunited with his teammates, no doubt with goals in mind for Sunday's trip to Turf Moor.

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