Liverpool news: Alexander Isak’s bad news continues as Conor Bradley worries rolls on

While the international break has given Liverpool a reprieve from their poor form, several Reds stars have continued to make headlines while representing their nations

It’s been a mixed international break for Liverpool players who’ve headed into their national camps on the back of three consecutive defeats. The first round of World Cup qualifiers have been played, resulting in both positive and negative results for several of the reigning Premier League champions’ stars.

France’s Ibrahima Konate and Hugo Ekitike earned a comprehensive 3-0 win over Azerbaijan while Florian Wirtz helped Germany to a comfortable 4-0 victory over Luxembourg. Mohamed Salah scored a brace in Egypt’s 3-0 triumph over Djibouti to book his nation’s side in the competition next year.

It wasn’t all victories for those representing the Reds as Alexander Isak’s Sweden fell to 2-0 loss to Switzerland while Kostas Tsimikas, who is on loan to Roma, netted in his side’s 3-1 defeat to an Andy Robertson-led Scotland.

It was a troublesome night for the Reds’ record signing who has yet to score a league goal for his new club while Conor Bradley’s man-of-the-match performance against Slovakia was partly overshadowed by a recurring issue. Mirror Football takes a look at all the latest news regarding Liverpool’s international stars.

Alexander Isak slammed

The striker, 26, made his first Sweden start since signing for Liverpool last month but it was one to forget after their loss to Switzerland left them rock bottom of Group B with just one point.

READ MORE: Hugo Ekitike gets ruthless verdict from French media after first start for FranceREAD MORE: Alexander Isak reveals he hasn’t spoken to Eddie Howe since bitter Newcastle fallout

Lining up alongside Arsenal’s Viktor Gyokeres, Sweden have some strikeforce but the pair weren’t firing on all cylinders and their inability to lead the nation to victory saw them both come in for criticism by their media.

Both forwards failed to register a single shot on target in 90 minutes while Isak, who was captaining his country for the first time, hit the post in the first-half after failing to convert from just a few yards out.

Isak was given a dire 2/5 review by Fotbollskanalen who wrote: “Missed a huge chance when the ball hit the post. Nice run when he got free and selflessly passed to Bergvall and should have gotten an assist.”

The criticism didn’t end there and got slightly worse as Svenska Fans were particularly scathing. They handed the striker a 1/5 rating. Their brutally honest review read: “Today’s team captain. Ran on many balls. Had a shot in the post that was worth a better fate. Then won a duel and then came free at the end of the first act. However, did not succeed very often with his actions.”

It hasn’t been the greatest start to life at Anfield for Isak, who has scored just one goal in six club appearances, but he will have the opportunity to redeem himself on Monday when Sweden host Kosovo.

Conor Bradley’s worrying trend continues

Conor Bradley came in for widespread praise after his man-of-the-match performance in Northern Ireland’s 2-0 victory over Slovakia on Friday. The Liverpool full-back played 92 minutes at Windsor Park and completed the most dribbles (five) and won the most duels (14) with the victory bumping up the country to second in Group A.

The 22-year-old, who is captain of his nation, will be disappointed however, as his yellow card late in the second-half means he’ll miss their Monday night clash against group leaders, Germany.

The yellow card he was handed marks seven bookings in just 12 appearances for club and country this season – a dire disciplinary record less than three months into the season.

Picking up yellows consistently has hampered his game-time this season with just three league starts to his name. After being brandished a first-half booking last week’s 2-1 defeat at Chelsea, Bradley was replaced at half-time by Florian Wirtz with Arne Slot not willing to risk his full-back getting sent off.

Jeremie Frimpong mixed verdict

The position of right-back has been an issue for Slot with summer signing Jeremie Frimpong not yet fully settling in. The 24-year-old has managed just 79 minutes of league action this season but his versatility certainly makes him a valuable squad member.

Having played at wing-back for much of his Bayer Leverkusen career, the Dutch international can also play as a winger – a position he started in during the Reds’ 1-0 Champions League defeat to Galatasaray. It was on the right flank where he was utilised in the Netherlands’ 4-0 rout of Malta on Thursday but his performance split opinion.

Despite completing the most dribbles in the match (6/7), having the most touches in the opposition box (13), and winning 72.7 percent of his duels (8/11), Dutch media, De Telegraaf, were unconvinced by Frimpong’s showing.

The publication’s match report read: “His first crosses went generously over the penalty area. He doesn’t have a great cross and is also far too hasty for a winger. After a good move, he often doesn’t know how to follow through.”

National team boss Ronald Koeman certainly didn’t agree with that assessment as he told Voetal International: “I thought Frimpong was a real threat. There wasn’t always danger coming from the right wing, which means Denzel has to get inside more. That’s improving all the time.”

The former Everton and Southampton boss added: “Donyell Malen might have been pushing inside a bit more than Frimpong. We can work on that, and we absolutely must, but yeah…it’s going well.”

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