Liverpool handed timely Alexander Isak boost as Andy Robertson reacts to 'perfect' win

14 hours ago 23

Liverpool will return to action against Burnley in the Premier League on Sunday but there are still more international fixtures to be played for many of Arne Slot's key men.

Later today, Mohamed Salah is expected to represent Egypt while France (Ibrahima Konate and Hugo Ekitike) and Hungary (Dominik Szoboszlai and Milos Kerkez) are also set to play in World Cup qualifying. England is facing Serbia, but Curtis Jones missed out on making Thomas Tuchel's latest squad.

On Monday, Alexander Isak played around 20 minutes for Sweden, making his return to competitive action. And considering these were his first minutes since the end of last season, he looked reasonably sharp.

Isak was unable to help his side come from two goals down against Kosovo, ultimately ending on the losing team. But he looked in good enough shape that he might be able to make another late cameo from the bench at Turf Moor in a few days.

"This was the maximum number of minutes I could give him," Sweden boss Jon Dahl Tomasson told Viaplay post-match, explaining the decision to keep Isak on the bench until the 72nd minute.

"We have talked in recent days about what risks there are and what is not a risk. It is extremely difficult to take a risk.

Alexander Isak of Sweden reacts

"I want to play him every minute. You can see right away that he is dangerous and creates things. But we also need him next month, the month after that, and next year."

Without Isak in the starting XI, Sweden still had Viktor Gyokeres and Anthony Elanga in attack, and yet it couldn't score a goal. The pressure is now on to get better results in the next two international breaks, which aren't too far away.

Elsewhere, Andy Robertson played the full 90 minutes for Scotland as they beat Belarus by two goals to nil. The Liverpool left-back hasn't featured from the start for his club so far this season, so playing for his country will have been a welcome boost.

"Job done. That's the best way to describe it," he told BBC Sport after the win. "We knew they would try to be a bit more secure and defensive.

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"We just had to be patient and got the goal at the perfect time just before half-time. We could have had more, but a job well done.

"When they've changed their shape, it takes a wee bit of time to figure out what's going to work. Once we got through with a great goal, we just wanted to stay professional and thankfully got the second goal.

"The gaffer put [Ben Gannon-Doak] on the left so I could look after him, but he doesn't need much looking after. He wants to take people on and his decision-making was good on the whole.

"We put in some shift on Friday and had to freshen it up. The four that came in were excellent. We need the full squad if we're going to qualify."

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