Alexander Isak given brutal 'non-existent' rating for Liverpool after Arne Slot mistake

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Alexander Isak has been slammed as "non-existent" after Liverpool's dismal 3-0 home defeat to Nottingham Forest on Saturday afternoon . The Reds are now in full-blown crisis following their eighth loss of the season, a far cry from their flawless opening run of seven straight wins in all competitions.

After being hammered 3-0 by Manchester City prior to the international break, Liverpool were in need of a win but instead lost by the same score line. Murillo fired in Forest's opener before Nicola Savona doubled their advantage moments after half-time.

Igor Jesus thought he grabbed that second in the first period but that was ruled out for handball. Morgan Gibbs-White later sealed the victory with the win taking Sean Dyche's side up to sixteenth and Liverpool down into the bottom half.

Despite dominating possession and creating more chances, Liverpool simply couldn't get going in either box.

The decision to start Isak following his injury comeback rather than Hugo Ekitike turned heads, and Slot seemed to recognise his mistake with two quick changes. Ekitike came on for Ibrahima Konate in the 55th minute, pushing Ryan Gravenberch back into defence.

Isak was then withdrawn for Federico Chiesa, with ex-Premier League defender Michael Dawson offering a damning verdict on his performance.

He told Sky Sports : "[Isak was] non-existent in this game. Got no service. Had one opportunity that he just scuffed."

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The Swedish forward has netted just once since his club-record £125million move from Newcastle United on deadline day. Lack of pre-season preparation and fitness setbacks have limited his appearances on the pitch, but Slot has explained exactly why he keeps picking him over alternative choices.

"Alex, it will still take a bit of time but he will end up being the player he was at Newcastle if we get him fit, or how he was at Sociedad or all the other clubs he was at," Slot said.

"He just needs to become fit. That is the challenge and it is underestimated so much if you bring a player in on September 1, when the league is already three weeks in.

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"I do know that a 100 percent fit Alexander Isak is a big, big, big plus for this team.

"But for him to get there, he might need to have minutes where you could argue that another player might be further ahead of him in terms of match fitness.

"This morning, I had a conversation with the performance staff: 'What is the best way for him – not for Liverpool – to get him as fast as we can to that 100%?'.