Isak Shines as Liverpool Claims First Win Over Ipswich

Andoni Iraola did not have to wait 10 games this time. Nine minutes at Portman Road were enough.

Two early strikes from Alexander Isak delivered the Spaniard his first victory as Liverpool head coach, a 2-0 win over Ipswich that owed as much to ruthless finishing as it did to fragile goalkeeping from Kjell Scherpen.

Lightning start ends Iraola déjà vu

Memories of Iraola’s slow, winless start at Bournemouth in 2023 had begun to surface after back-to-back draws to open his Liverpool reign. Any tension evaporated almost immediately.

On six minutes, Cody Gakpo slid a precise pass into Isak’s stride. The Swede hit it hard but straight; Scherpen got both hands to the shot and still watched it burst through his palms and into the net. A soft concession, a hard punishment.

Ipswich barely had time to reset.

Three minutes later, a long Liverpool ball turned into chaos. Scherpen came wandering out, misjudged the situation, and Isak needed no second invitation. Drifting in from the left, he rolled a low finish past the stranded goalkeeper, who again looked badly exposed by his own decision-making.

Two goals. Two Gakpo assists. Two glaring questions about Ipswich’s new No 1.

Isak thought he had completed a first-half hat-trick, just as he had on his last visit to Portman Road with Newcastle, when he tucked in a fine Florian Wirtz cross on 33 minutes. The flag was up. He had gone a fraction too early.

Liverpool, though, were cruising.

Liverpool control, Ipswich respond

The early blitz could have broken Ipswich. It didn’t. Gary O’Neil’s side, coming off another defeat and staring at a long afternoon, clawed their way back into the contest.

Leif Davis offered a reminder that Liverpool’s back line is not yet watertight when he met a cross from the right on the half-hour, only to head wide with the visitors briefly stretched.

From there, the pattern shifted. Liverpool dialled down the chaos and tightened the screws. The second half became less about spectacle and more about control.

Iraola’s team pressed higher and cleaner than in their opening games, repeatedly winning the ball in advanced areas and keeping Ipswich at arm’s length. When they did have to defend deeper, they did it with a calm that has not always been associated with this club in recent seasons.

A first clean sheet under Iraola felt significant. So did the way they earned it.

Barcola’s quiet first step

On 66 minutes, a new storyline arrived. Bradley Barcola, the £123m signing from PSG, stepped off the bench for his Premier League debut.

This was not the night for fireworks from the Frenchman. By then, Liverpool had throttled back their attacking ambition, prioritising structure over swagger. Barcola slotted into a side intent on managing the game, not chasing more headlines.

It was professional, even pragmatic. And after the turbulence of Iraola’s early Bournemouth days, that will suit Liverpool just fine.

Flashpoints and frustration

Portman Road did not leave without a sense of injustice.

Ipswich felt Jérémy Jacquet should have been sent off early in the second half. Already booked for a foul on Emersonn, the defender went through the back of the same player on 53 minutes. No foul was given. No second yellow. The home crowd erupted.

Later, Liverpool thought they had a chance to kill the game completely from the spot. VAR advised referee Darren England to review a foul by Davis on Dominik Szoboszlai, only for Stockley Park to rule Szoboszlai offside in the build-up. No penalty.

O’Neil’s anger, though, was reserved for Liverpool’s game management in the closing stages. He felt his side had been hurried for timewasting in previous matches, while Liverpool were allowed to run the clock down with relative comfort here. He acknowledged the officials reached the right call on the penalty, but the sense of double standards lingered.

Still, when the final whistle blew, Ipswich were applauded off. They had recovered from a disastrous start to give Liverpool an honest examination, even if they never carved out a truly clear opening.

The Ipswich No 1 curse

The spotlight, harsh and unforgiving, fell on Scherpen.

Ipswich thought they had reset the position when they moved on from Arijanet Muric, whose season in the top flight was riddled with costly errors. Scherpen arrived from Union Saint-Gilloise as the fresh start, the calming presence.

Instead, his first major audition at this level unravelled inside 10 minutes.

Two errors, two goals, and a stadium suddenly gripped by an all-too-familiar dread. At this level, one misjudgement can undo 45 minutes of solid work. Ipswich suffered that twice before the game had even settled.

They now need Scherpen to steady himself quickly. O’Neil’s side cannot spend a season fighting the opposition and worrying about their own goalkeeper at the same time. After Muric’s struggles and Scherpen’s nightmare opening against Liverpool, it is no surprise that some Ipswich supporters are starting to wonder if the No 1 shirt comes with a curse attached.

Isak resets, Iraola breathes

For Isak, this felt like a personal reset. After a long injury lay-off and what he described as a difficult season, he spoke of wanting a strong World Cup and a sharp start to this campaign. Two goals, another disallowed, and a performance full of menace suggested he is exactly where he wants to be.

Iraola, too, can exhale. He demanded more from Isak off the ball, more pressing, more work for the team. He got the goals anyway and, just as importantly, a collective performance that looked far closer to his blueprint.

Liverpool walk away with their first win, their first clean sheet, and the sense that this project has finally left the runway.

Ipswich leave with back-to-back defeats, a goalkeeper under scrutiny, and a lingering question: how many more punches can they absorb from their own penalty area before it derails their season?