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Liverpool's manager voiced belief that Mohamed Salah and Alexander Isak will forge a effective partnership in the final third following Liverpool suffered a stoppage-time loss versus Chelsea, which saw them give up top spot to Arsenal.

The attacking duo failed to impress as last season's title winners suffered their third successive defeat in all competitions, but the Dutch coach remains optimistic that his high-profile strikers will improve once they get to know each other.

“As they spend more time on the pitch, the stronger their link-up will be,” the Liverpool manager remarked. “It requires effort to attain a certain level and then it’s very hard in football because you also play against quality sides to sustain that performance. To clarify is steady performance. Yet, it's obvious that we made adjustments in the summer. Additions were made at separate intervals.”

“Last week, there’s hardly been any time on the training ground. Still we need to try to blend the fresh faces. Had the outcome was improved today with a tie or three points then we might have secured a great start to the season bearing in mind the various events in the summer for the team.”

The manager, who needed to reshuffle his defensive unit after Ibrahima Konaté went off with a leg issue in the latter period, stood by Salah’s wayward finishing.

“What pleases me is that we positioned him repeatedly in the area he thrives in,” the coach noted. “And I would like him to be in because he’s shown in his career and during my tenure that in such situations he is lethal. He was presented with many opportunities to do what he’s done so often. He’s a human being and it’s not like all his attempts he gets is invariably converted. We feel so because of what he’s done in the previous campaign.”

Liverpool host their historic rivals after the FIFA window, and the manager thinks that sharper shooting could have prevented his side from defeat against their recent opponents. “During those fixtures we produced additional attempts than the opponents we played but the truth is we have only scored once in both games and the opposing team has scored twice,” he added.

Chelsea led through Moisés Caicedo’s early goal and it looked they were heading for a tie when Cody Gakpo made it 1-1. But the London club moved up to sixth when the Brazilian teenager, emerged in the dying moments to find the net for the first time in English football.

Estêvão’s intervention sparked emotional reactions and led to the head coach getting a second yellow card for his celebrations. Chelsea’s head coach faces a touchline ban when his team visit Nottingham Forest.

Willy Caballero was left to conduct press obligations. “He is fine,” the assistant commented of Maresca. “He cannot be here because of the sending-off. He asked me to commend the squad because of the dedication they showed today. We earned the win because of the scoring opportunities we fashioned.”