Alisson concedes Liverpool are missing two players after Mohamed Salah admission

Liverpool have made a perfect start to the Premier League season with four wins from four but Arne Slot’s side have struggled to produce performances at the best of their ability

Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker has admitted that the Reds are missing Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez following a summer of change at Anfield. The Premier League champions spent £450million on 10 new players in the transfer window.

They also earned approximately £225m from player sales, including Trent Alexander-Arnold, Harvey Elliott, Jarell Quansah, Diaz, and Nunez. The South American duo have hit the ground running at their new clubs – Bayern Munich and Al-Hilal – following transfers worth £65.5m and £56.5m respectively.

Diaz netted the decisive goal on his debut in the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup against VfB Stuttgart before scoring a goal and registering two assists on his Bundesliga debut. On the other hand, Nunez found the back of the net for Al-Hilal in his second match against Al-Qadsiah.

READ MORE: Liverpool will add £75m Man United transfer target to Arne Slot squad if January move completedREAD MORE: Richard Keys and Andy Gray clash over Hugo Ekitike transfer – ‘I’m certain Liverpool said’

Both players were instrumental in Liverpool’s Premier League triumph last season. Liverpool invested heavily to bolster their attack in the summer, bringing in Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike in deals totalling up to £320m.

Isak could make his Liverpool debut against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday night, while Wirtz is experiencing a slow start to his Anfield career, with his only goal contribution coming in the Community Shield against Crystal Palace. Ektike has been a standout performer already, netting three goals and providing an assist in his first five appearances.

Despite topping the Premier League with four victories from four matches, Arne Slot’s team have not been at their best, requiring late goals to secure wins in each of their games so far. Alisson has admitted that they need to get better and are feeling the absence of key players like Diaz and Nunez as their new signings continue to settle in.

“All the players who left were important,” he confessed to ESPN’s SportCenter. “Lucho, Darwin, they all made a difference for us with goals or their playing, fighting, defending.

“They had good energy, and we miss them. The ones who arrived are stars, they’re doing very well with their contributions, they have a lot of quality.

“It’s clear we want to improve because we need to; we have many competitions to play.”

Alisson is not the only Liverpool player to admit that it will take time for the Reds to adjust after such a busy transfer window. His sentiments echo those expressed by Mohamed Salah earlier this month.

“The players are adapting to our system,” the Egyptian star told Sky Sports after scoring a last-minute winner against Burnley on Sunday. “We had a few new players in the starting line-up. It takes time to adapt their game to our game.

“We try to make them comfortable in a game. Alex [Isak] also came last week and he’s going to be in the team. We try to find the balance.”

Salah had also previously confessed it will take time to develop chemistry with Liverpool’s new attacking players and that he was still getting accustomed to playing alongside the likes of Ekitike when speaking to Men In Blazers.

“So far, I didn’t figure the connections out yet,” he said. “Like with Darwin (Nunez) or Lucho (Diaz) or the guys they used to play in front, or Diogo (Jota).

“I knew where to start with Diogo or Darwin. I know where to find them. I knew their game very well, but with Hugo, he’s still new. Sometimes I need the ball in the field. Sometimes we need it in the space.

“We try to figure that out, through the training sessions or like the videos. The manager shows us. So I will figure it out soon because also it’s going to help my game to grow as well.”

Meanwhile, Alisson also provided an injury update on Alexis Mac Allister after the Argentine was substituted with an ankle injury against Burnley, insisting there was ‘nothing wrong’ with the midfielder.

“He’s a very strong man,” he said. “Nothing’s wrong with him, he was just in a bit of pain. I think he’s fine.”

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