1 pass every 9 minutes: What Michael Owen saw from one Liverpool player on Sunday was ‘worrying’ | OneFootball

Michael Owen is losing patience with one Liverpool player who can now expect to face ‘questions’ over his output for the Reds.

Sunday marked a first return to St James’ Park for Alexander Isak since his protracted £125m transfer to Anfield last year, and unsurprisingly the Swedish marksman was roundly jeered by the natives every time he had possession.

The 26-year-old was unable to silence the hecklers with a goal against his former club, although he did complete a full match for the first time since joining LFC on what was his 23rd appearance.

Owen: Isak is ‘running out of excuses’ at Liverpool

Isak endured an injury-hit first campaign at Liverpool, missing four months with a broken leg before his return in April, but Owen is adamant that the honeymoon period for our number 9 is well and truly over.

The former Reds striker told talkSPORT: “I know how hard it is to get back and you do need time. He has been given plenty of time – he finished the season in the team, then went to the World Cup and has had a pre-season.

“Now he is starting to run out of excuses. We need to see the real Isak. We saw how good he can be at Newcastle, but we haven’t seen it in a red shirt yet. Questions will come now. At the start of the season, there are expectations, and Liverpool need him.

“[Mo] Salah has gone, [Hugo] Ekitike is out, and he needs to deliver. Against Newcastle, he was a yard off it, and that is worrying. He is the big-money signing, and I can’t say he played well because he didn’t.”

(Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)

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Liverpool need Isak to start delivering quickly

Unfortunately for Isak, he was unable to make much of an impact against his former club yesterday, having been starved of service for the most part due to some wayward deliveries from his teammates but also failing to threaten with any of the chances which did fall his way.

The 26-year-old’s underlying numbers against Newcastle were a mixed bag – he did manage to get a couple of shots on target and won the majority of his duels, but his rate of completed passes throughout the 90 minutes was damning (via Sofascore).

As Owen pointed out, the Swede had more than his fair share of injury problems to overcome last season but has played plenty of football since returning from the leg break, and yet it feels as though he’s still trying to find a rhythm in a Liverpool shirt.

With Ekitike sidelined until the end of 2026, Andoni Iraola needs Isak to quickly get back to the prolific levels that he showed for the Magpies (62 goals in 109 games). Unlike last autumn, we can’t afford for him to feel his way into the season – we need him fit and firing straight away.

At least he has the psychological challenge of a hostile return to Tyneside out of the way after weeks of anticipation. While he’s still reliant on his teammates providing him with ample service, he needs to play his part by converting the chances which are created for him.

An Anfield clash against Nottingham Forest next Saturday would be the perfect time to start doing just that.