Alexander Isak's Liverpool Struggles Are Over After Ipswich Win
Alexander Isak says the worst of his Liverpool struggles is over. On Friday night at Portman Road, he played like it.
The Sweden striker struck twice inside nine frantic minutes to drag Liverpool to a 2-0 win at Ipswich, delivering Andoni Iraola his first victory as manager and, perhaps more importantly, announcing that he is finally starting to look like a £125 million centrepiece rather than an expensive question mark.
From injury misery to early-season menace
Isak arrived last year as a British-record signing from Newcastle United, burdened by the fee and then broken by injuries. Four goals in 22 appearances was a meagre return, a stop-start campaign that never really got going.
"It was not easy. It was a long injury, a difficult season in general," he told Sky Sports afterwards. "I was thinking: I want to have a good World Cup firstly and then to start the season well, which I feel like I've done now. That season is kind of behind me, but it wasn't easy."
The numbers back up the change. His brace against Ipswich pushed him to three goals in three Premier League games this season. Same shirt, very different story.
Iraola’s first win – and his No. 9 at the heart of it
For Iraola, this was the third attempt to get Liverpool moving in his image. The intensity was higher, the structure clearer, but the cutting edge had been missing. Isak supplied it.
"Yes, with Alex, if he is fit, if he is available, if he is in good shape, I think he will produce the numbers," Iraola said in his news conference.
The Basque coach, though, made it clear he wants far more than just goals from his record signing.
"My demands with Alex will not be about the goals, probably will be about other things. I will demand other things so we can play well, because if we play well we are in good positions and the goals will come. He has to contribute towards the collective and knowing when everyone helps, after the goals and assists will come."
On this evidence, Isak is starting to understand that brief. He pressed, he linked, he finished. And when the chances came, he was ruthless.
Gakpo the creator Liverpool refused to lose
Isak took the headlines. Cody Gakpo quietly wrote the script.
Both of the Swede’s goals came from the Dutchman’s boot: first a sharp through-ball that sliced Ipswich open, then an outrageous outside-of-the-foot pass for the second, the kind of assist that justifies holding your nerve in the transfer market.
Tottenham and Manchester City both circled Gakpo before the deadline. Liverpool simply said no. Nights like this explain why.
"I had no doubt with Cody. He has been very good all the preseason, has started very well the season, producing numbers," Iraola said.
"After the two assists, he finished as a number nine to help us close the game and I think it's good to have Cody because he can play in the three positions up top. To have him in this place, for the beginning of the season, it's good. I think Cody knows how much we value him, I think there is no doubt. I rate him very highly."
Versatility, end product, tactical intelligence – Iraola leaned on all of it to see out the win.
Barcola’s first taste of Anfield life
There was another expensive subplot. Bradley Barcola, the £123 million arrival from Paris Saint-Germain, started on the bench after his move earlier in the week. He was introduced in the 64th minute, a brief debut but an early glimpse of the depth now at Iraola’s disposal.
Liverpool’s attack, once heavily reliant on a single front three, suddenly looks stacked with options: Isak finding form, Gakpo trusted and thriving, Barcola waiting to explode into the league.
Isak insists last season is behind him. Iraola has his first win. The price tags are huge, the expectations even bigger. If this is only the start of Isak’s resurgence, how far can this retooled Liverpool go?
