Alexander Isak made his second start for Liverpool on Tuesday night, playing the first half of the Reds’ Carabao Cup tie against Southampton at Anfield – but he didn’t join his teammates at half-time

Alexander Isak was in disbelief after being asked to continue running after the half-time whistle blew

Liverpool striker Alexander Isak was spotted doing some extra running at Anfield after his first-half goal put the Reds in front against Southampton in the Carabao Cup.

Shortly after the Swede had broken the deadlock in a largely uneventful first 45 minutes, Isak was out on the pitch doing a couple of sprints, as he did on Saturday, as he continues to work his way back to full match fitness. The former Newcastle United man missed most of the summer and played 58 minutes against Atletico Madrid a week ago in his first appearance for Liverpool. Isak was chosen to start against Southampton with Arne Slot making 11 changes to his team in the third round.

Seconds after the half-time whistle blew, Isak was approached by a Liverpool coach to tell him he wouldn’t be joining his team-mates in the dressing room, and was required to keep running on the field. The striker looked in disbelief after the request was made, before happily going out and sprinting for a few minutes.

Speaking at half-time, Jamie Redknapp reacted to the footage and said he could understand why he’d likely be taken off at the interval.

“My guess is, he won’t be coming on second half and they want to recreate as much 90 minutes of football as possible,” he told Sky Sports.

Redknapp continued: “They don’t want to take any chances with injury”.

“He’ll probably be having 20 seconds on, ten seconds off, and it’s part of the game now!

“Sports scientists, they run football. You have to listen to them and try to get as much out of them as you can.

Isak gladly continued running and was replaced by Hugo Ekitike at the interval
“And he got his goal! It was a lot easier after the goal to do all that running.”

Isak was replaced by Hugo Ekitike at Anfield at half-time. The Frenchman has already scored three times for the Reds in the Premier League.

Slot has already explained what he expects from Isak when he reaches full sharpness. Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele, he said recently, was the example to follow.

“Dembele was one of the examples,” Slot said. “He was so outstanding in his pressing game.

“So everybody is focused on Paris Saint-Germain, about all the goals they score, but I was mainly impressed by the way they pressed.

“The moment [Isak is] fit, match fit, and can play 90, the next step is playing three times in a week 90 minutes, and then the next step is going one step further in terms of pressing.

“That’s what he has to do, and scoring goals, doing special things in attack, that is something he will 100 per cent sure do.”