Alexander Isak was the £125m striker who finally arrived at Liverpool by tormenting Ipswich Town – while Cody Gakpo’s virtuoso performance had them giving thanks he never left.
The nuts and bolts of a comfortable Friday in Suffolk were that Liverpool won 2-0 – thanks to two Isak goals in the first nine minutes, giving them their first Premier League victory of the season and new manager Andoni Iraola’s first since succeeding the sacked Arne Slot.
Liverpool’s win must be placed in the context of being against a newly promoted Ipswich Town who were game, but who shipped five goals at Manchester United last week and look ripe for the picking against attacking quality.
The wider significance, however, was that Isak finally looked like the player Liverpool broke, at that time, the British transfer record to seal an acrimonious transfer from Newcastle United last summer.
Throw in the added bonus that Bradley Barcola showed flashes of devastating pace in a 26-minute debut display after his £123m arrival from Paris St-Germain, and this was a night that ticked every box for Iraola and Liverpool.
Even Barcola’s bow, however, was overshadowed by Isak.
The Sweden striker looked a lost soul in his first season at Liverpool, arriving out of condition after downing tools to secure his move from Tyneside, then troubled by injuries as he gave the impression of being the most expensive vanity purchase in British football history.
He was outshone by fellow striker Hugo Ekitike, his statistics stark as he suffered along with many others in an astonishing decline amid Liverpool’s dismal title defence that led to Slot’s sacking only a year after he lifted the Premier League trophy.
Isak played 22 games encompassing 1,033 minutes, scoring four goals at a rate of one every 258 minutes. He played 14 games in the Premier League totalling 703 minutes, scoring only three goals at a rate of one every 234 minutes.
He has already equalled that league tally this season, but it was his demeanour as well as his lethal finishing that will have given Liverpool and Iraola confidence that the Isak code has finally been cracked.
And it was done by utilising Isak at his best – running in behind defenders and pressing with pace. It was what made him such a hot property at Newcastle United, and made everything about his every miserable moment on the pitch with Liverpool last term such a mystery.
It was also done in tandem with Gakpo, who could easily have been back in the north west preparing for Manchester City’s game against Coventry City at Etihad Stadium had the move not collapsed.
