It was another busy night for Liverpool players on international duty, with several Reds involved across Europe.
There were goals, defeats, substitute appearances and a horrible last-gasp moment for one Liverpool goalkeeper.
Alexander Isak was the big winner of the night, scoring for Sweden, while Bradley Barcola made another appearance for France.
Elsewhere, Dominik Szoboszlai and Milos Kerkez both played the full 90 minutes for Hungary, while Giorgi Mamardashvili suffered a particularly painful defeat with Georgia.
Here is how the Liverpool players got on.
Alexander Isak scores for Sweden
Alexander Isak continued his excellent start to the season by finding the net for Sweden in their 2-1 victory over Romania.
The Liverpool striker completed the full 90 minutes and once again showed why there is so much excitement surrounding him at Anfield.
Isak has already made a strong impression since the start of the season at Liverpool, and another international goal will only add to his confidence.
What I particularly like is that he isn’t simply scoring goals for Liverpool and then disappearing when he goes away with Sweden.
He is continuing to look like a striker who wants to be involved in everything.
Liverpool have obviously invested heavily in Isak, and the early signs are extremely encouraging after a tough first season at Anfield.
He now has another goal to take back to Merseyside before Liverpool’s next batch of fixtures.
And considering how much we are still waiting for Liverpool’s attack to properly click under Andoni Iraola, having Isak in this sort of form could be absolutely massive.
Liverpool’s own international guide had Isak listed to start Sweden’s September fixtures, and the striker’s latest appearance gives him another 90 minutes under his belt.
Barcola gets another France appearance
Bradley Barcola came off the bench for France against Turkey and played 12 minutes.
It wasn’t a huge amount of time, but every minute is valuable for Barcola at the moment.
The winger is still building his fitness after arriving at Liverpool without a full pre-season, and Iraola has already spoken about managing his minutes carefully.
Barcola started Liverpool’s Champions League meeting with Atlético Madrid earlier this month but was withdrawn after an hour with cramp. Iraola said at the time that Liverpool were still learning how many minutes Barcola could comfortably handle.
So another appearance for France is useful.
The more football Barcola gets into his legs, the better it should be for Liverpool.
Jeremy Jacquet was also involved with the France squad but remained on the bench and didn’t get onto the pitch.
That’s probably not a major concern.
Jacquet has already been one of the most impressive Liverpool players this season and, from Liverpool’s perspective, I’d rather see him come home fresh than play unnecessary minutes.
Szoboszlai and Kerkez suffer defeat
It was a disappointing night for Dominik Szoboszlai and Milos Kerkez.
Both Liverpool players completed the full 90 minutes as Hungary lost 1-0 to Ukraine.
For Szoboszlai, it means another full international match added to what is already a demanding schedule.
The Liverpool midfielder has been an important player for Iraola this season and has continued to take on a major role for both club and country.
Kerkez also played the entire game.
He’s another player Liverpool will want returning to Merseyside fit and ready for the next run of matches.
Neither player could prevent Hungary from suffering defeat, but from Liverpool’s perspective the most important thing is that both came through the game without an injury.
That is always one of the biggest concerns during international breaks.
Heartbreak for Mamardashvili
Then there was Giorgi Mamardashvili.
And this one was brutal.
Georgia suffered a 1-0 defeat to Northern Ireland, with the winning goal coming in the 90+9th minute.
You can imagine how painful that must have been.
For a goalkeeper, conceding that late is particularly difficult because there is virtually no time left to respond.
Mamardashvili has already shown Liverpool supporters what he can do this season, particularly during the Carabao Cup victory over Tottenham, when he made several important saves on his first appearance of the campaign.
He will now have to put this one behind him quickly.
There is another international fixture coming up for Georgia, so hopefully Mamardashvili can respond positively.
A mixed night for Liverpool
So, overall, it was a bit of everything for Liverpool’s international contingent.
Isak scored.
Barcola got another 12 minutes for France.
Jacquet watched from the bench.
Szoboszlai and Kerkez played the full match but suffered defeat.
And Mamardashvili experienced the worst possible ending to his game.
From Liverpool’s perspective, though, the biggest positive is simply getting through another round of international fixtures without any obvious injury concerns.
That’s always the priority.
And I’m particularly pleased to see Isak continuing to score.
Liverpool haven’t always looked completely convincing going forward this season, but their star striker is already showing that he can produce moments of quality when they matter.
If Iraola can eventually get the whole attack clicking, Isak could be the biggest beneficiary of all.
For now, though, another international goal is another reason for Liverpool fans to be excited about what is coming next from the Swedish striker.
Jamie (The Kopite View)
Leave a Reply