Alexander Isak pulled at halftime in Frankfurt as Mohamed Salah eventually comes off Liverpool bench

 Swedish forward Alexander Isak was replaced at halftime as Liverpool led 3-1 against Frankfurt on Wednesday in the Champions League. The Premier League record-signing will see his goal drought continue to a fifth-straight contest in red colors.

It's unclear if coach Arne Slot made the change for tactical reasons or if Isak is dealing with a fitness issue. He was replaced by in-form Italian forward Federico Chiesa over Mohamed Salah, who remained on the bench.

Isak will finish his night with two shots, 14 touches, six completed passes, and one duel won. He has not scored since he found the back of the net in his debut against Southampton in late September.

Isak joined Liverpool for an eye-watering £125 million ($170 million) over the summer after a protracted standoff with Newcastle. He's had to play himself into fitness after missing most of the Magpies' summer training.

Slot has generally rotated Isak and fellow summer-signing Hugo Ekitike up top since the start of September, though the Dutch manager opted to start them as a pair for the first time on Wednesday.

Ekitike, the lanky French forward, scored a stunning first-half goal off a dazzling Andy Robertson through ball, where the former Frankfurt man outpaced defender Arthur Theate.

Isak, meanwhile, started three of Liverpool's last four games — all losses. He tallied an assist against Chelsea but failed to even total a cumulative xG (0.80) against the four fixtures.

He'll be in contention to start over the weekend when the Reds travel to Brentford for a late kickoff (8:00 local time). Liverpool sits third in the Premier League behind Arsenal and Manchester City.

Chiesa has arguably been one of Liverpool's most useful players this year. He provided a spark in the losses both to Manchester United (assist) and Crystal Palace (goal). Before that, he provided both assists in the Reds' 2-1 League Cup victory over Southampton.

Salah eventually substituted on for Liverpool against Frankfurt, replacing Cody Gakpo in the 72nd minute, with the English giants already leading 5-1. The Egyptian international equaled Alan Shearer's mark of 47 combined goals and assists in a single Premier League campaign a season ago.

This year, Salah has mustered six goal involvements in 12 games (10 starts). Former Liverpool center-back Jamie Carragher hinted on Sky Sports recently that he doesn't think the winger should be starting as frequently as he has been.