Liverpool’s Unfinished Understanding: Salah and Isak Still Finding Their Rhythm | OneFootball

An Unfinished Understanding

In Liverpool’s reimagined attack under Arne Slot, Mohamed Salah and Alexander Isak are two names that should, in theory, complement each other perfectly — an elite finisher alongside an intelligent mover, both capable of drifting wide, linking play, and finishing clinically. Yet, several months into the season, the chemistry still feels more theoretical than real, as within this latest international window, the Reds’ record signing once again struggles to emerge.

This isn’t a case of two struggling players; it’s two exceptional footballers learning how to share the stage. Salah has spent years operating within the framework of familiarity — with Roberto Firmino’s intelligent dropping movements, Sadio Mané’s complementary aggression, and Trent Alexander-Arnold’s perfectly timed diagonals. Those automatisms are gone. The perfect chemistry created a near unstoppable force, one which would have swept away the opposition season after season, if not for the 115 charge juggernaut known as Manchester City.

Isak, meanwhile, arrived at a side that was still reshaping itself and struggling to replicate past brilliance. The Swede’s play is more nuanced than many give him credit for: a striker who thrives on subtle angles and vertical passes into feet, rather than chasing hopeful balls into the channel. He wants combinations, not chaos and is a striker that should thrive in a ball-dominant environment. For now, Liverpool’s rhythm doesn’t yet offer him the service or structure that allows him to shine and his former Newcastle fanbase is enjoying every moment.

Two Forwards Searching for Connection

It’s clear from recent games that Salah and Isak are still learning each other’s movements, with the continual game and international breaks not allowing for much-needed training sessions. When Salah drifts infield, Isak often mirrors the run instead of countering it. When Isak drops deep to link play, Salah stays wide, waiting for the diagonal ball that no longer comes with Trent gone. The spacing, the timing, the shared intuition — all still under construction and look disjointed to say the least.

At their best, both players offer devastating movement in transition. Yet Liverpool no longer looks like a side built around pure transition moments; Slot’s blueprint is one of control and positional discipline. In that kind of system, chemistry between the number nine and the wide forward becomes crucial. It’s not about raw pace or chaos — it’s about coordinated triggers, about when to run, when to hold, and when to combine with one another.

Salah’s instinct is to act, to seize the half-second window before a defender reacts. However, the searing pace that once set him apart is fast in decline and interplay is needed now more than ever. Isak’s instinct is to wait for the picture to open, to choose the smartest option rather than the fastest one. It’s not a clash of styles so much as a difference in rhythm — and rhythm takes time to harmonise, though time is never afforded to a team that needs to be fighting for immediate supremacy.

Slot’s Patience and the Path Forward

Arne Slot’s task now is to give this partnership the space to breathe, whilst finding the idea left flank facilitator. The esteemed head coach will know that Salah’s best relationships have always been built over time — it took months before his understanding with Firmino reached its peak, and even longer before the Mané-Salah dynamic clicked without friction. Individual brilliance and pace in transition allowed that relationship time, however, the all too common low block now scuppers that once famous initiative.

Isak’s qualities — the control, the touch, the ability to finish from tight angles — will eventually add variety to Liverpool’s attack. But it requires a midfield that supports those patterns and wide players who understand his timing. Salah will adapt; he always does. Yet until that connection forms, Liverpool’s attack will continue to feel like a work in progress — talented individuals without the collective understanding that once made them irresistible.

Time, in football, is both a gift and a test for those who sit at the pinnacle of the game. For Salah and Isak, it might be the difference between an awkward partnership and a devastating one.