Liverpool will look to continue their upward trajectory when they play Wolves after Christmas. The Reds appear to have steadied the ship after a rocky spell, with victory over Tottenham on Saturday marking the first time they have won back-to-back Premier League matches since September.

Alexander Isak is expected to be missing for an extended period of time, with Liverpool's plans in January surely to change as a result.

They had six senior forwards last season: Salah, Gakpo, Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez and Federico Chiesa. They signed two strikers, but didn’t replace Diaz, leaving them with five senior options and 17-year-old Rio Ngumoha.

Whatever the nature of the damage done to Isak as Micky van de Ven collided with him well after the shot was away, it was enough to rob Liverpool's No. 9 of what might otherwise have been a moment of ecstasy.

It took less than six seconds for Liverpool ’s £300m trio to rip through Tottenham’s 10 men after Cristian Romero ’s careless pass from defence. Hugo Ekitike looked up and picked out Florian Wirtz, suddenly free in the space he has spent so much time trying to find.

With Mohamed Salah already absent and pressure mounting, Alexander Isak briefly delivered exactly what was needed—before misfortune struck again.