Alexander Isak and Mohamed Salah statement made as Liverpool struggle to find balance

Michael Owen has backed Mohamed Salah and Alexander Isak to shine at Liverpool, despite the Merseysiders' dip in form before the international break.

A 2-1 away defeat to Chelsea resulted in the Reds dropping down to second for the first time since September 2024. Estevao's late goal marked a third consecutive defeat for the Reds, hot on the heels of Eddie Nketiah's last-gasp winner for Crystal Palace.

Arne Slot's side had also suffered a 1-0 away loss to Galatasaray in the Champions League. Trailing Arsenal by a single point, they face Manchester United when the Premier League returns this weekend.

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The heat is on for the reigning champions following a summer of big-spending. As well as breaking the Premier League transfer record to sign Isak for £125million, they also bought Florian Wirtz (£116m), Hugo Ekitike (£79m), Milos Kerkez (£40m), Jeremie Frimpong (£29.5m) and Giovanni Leoni (£26m).

Many questions have been asked about the new recruits and the performances of incumbent star man Salah, who is yet to hit the same heights of last season. Overall, Owen is not worried and has shrugged off talk of a 'mini crisis' before backing the new signings to come to form.

Speaking on behalf of Casino.co.uk, Owen said: "In terms of their forwards, going through them individually. Mo Salah's obviously not going through his best of patches now, but you can never write him off.

"He's still fit and healthy and injury-free and been top of his game for years. There's no doubt, surely in anybody's mind, that he'll be banging him in again soon.

"Cody Gakpo is playing well and did show some good signs last season, too. As for Hugo Ekitike, he's probably been my pick of the bunch in terms of the new signings, I think he's done very well.

"Alexander Isak is coming back after not really having a pre-season, so he's coming in and out of the starting XI to try and get sharp and fit. If I was putting a fan's hat on, I'd be relaxed overall.

"I'd be obviously disappointed with the Chelsea defeat, but Stamford Bridge is a tough place to go, it's never easy. I certainly can't remember ever winning there as a player.

"That game could have gone either way and it's not like Liverpool are playing badly. I wouldn't be as hot and bothered as some people are about it."

Focussing on the form of the team as a whole, the Ballon d'Or winner added: "It's interesting with Liverpool, if we spoke before the defeats, we'd be saying, 'what a fantastic start, five out of five wins in the Premier League, one out of one in the Champions League.'

"After three defeats, suddenly it almost feels like a 'mini crisis', or at least that's what people are labelling it. It just shows how fickle football is and how quick it can change.

"They've just got to make sure that they win their next game and bounce out of it. Then people will focus on something else again."

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