There are excuses like lack of match practice, lack of fitness and getting used to new team-mates, but it was still astonishing to see how far off the pace Alexander Isak seemed on Saturday.
I regularly covered Newcastle United games last season and, even when he was having quiet matches, it looked as if he could spring into action, in and around the box at any moment, and the stadium would be buzzing when he was on the ball, driving at goal.
Against Nottingham Forest though, he was unrecognisable from the prolific striker that played at St James’ Park. You could have been forgiven for thinking he was not even on the pitch in the first half.
Even in a poor performance, Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo had their moments, with dangerous runs and decent chances, but Isak struggled to make any impact.
Among the many issues that Arne Slot is facing right now, trying to get Isak up to speed must surely be near the top of the priority list.
Meanwhile, if you are Hugo Ekitike – one of the rare positives in a poor Liverpool season – you would be annoyed that Isak is starting ahead of you.
Hopefully, Isak shuts up the critics like me with plenty of goals in the next few weeks, but right now he is a problem that Liverpool have to solve.
