Alexander Isak Shines as Liverpool Secures First Win of the Season

Alexander Isak walked off at Portman Road with the match ball and Liverpool’s season finally up and running – but his mind was somewhere else entirely.

Not on the British-record fee. Not on the noise around him. On the year that nearly broke him.

Isak answers the questions – and the pressure

Liverpool’s 2026-27 Premier League campaign had stumbled out of the blocks. Two games, no wins, questions already circling a new-look side and its marquee signing. On Friday night, the pressure followed them to Ipswich. It lasted less than ten minutes.

Isak struck twice before the home crowd had settled into their seats, ripping the game away from the newly-promoted hosts and silencing the early-season doubts in the process. The £125 million forward, who arrived from Newcastle United last year and then saw his debut campaign shredded by fitness problems, finally looked like the ruthless spearhead Liverpool paid for.

Yet when the final whistle went and the cameras found him, the tone was reflective, not triumphant.

“It was not easy. It was a long injury, a difficult season in general,” he told Sky Sports, laying bare the mental and physical grind of the last twelve months. “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.”

For Liverpool, this felt like more than three points. It was a release.

Fast start, clear plan

The intent was obvious from the first kick. Liverpool, winless and under scrutiny, went straight for Ipswich’s throat.

They hunted the ball, snapped into duels, and when they turned it over, they went. No hesitation. No safety first.

Isak’s first goal arrived inside those frantic opening minutes, his movement sharp, his finish ruthless. Before Ipswich could reset, he added a second, the away end erupting as the home support fell flat. The game plan, drilled all week, had landed perfectly.

“Obviously we were waiting for the first win and we were talking about starting the game good, which we haven't done recently,” Isak said. “That was perfect for us to get two quick goals. I think we're starting to get the way that we want to play and be offensive and attack the defence. I think we showed that today. We scored two and we could have scored more.”

The message from the new regime has been clear: front-foot football, aggression, and speed in transition. At Portman Road, those ideas finally clicked into something convincing.

Gakpo’s craft unlocks Ipswich

Isak’s finishing will dominate the headlines. Cody Gakpo’s fingerprints were all over the win.

The Dutch international supplied both assists for his centre-forward, building on a partnership that had already produced a goal against Nottingham Forest the previous weekend. His delivery from wide areas repeatedly exposed Ipswich’s back line, his awareness and weight of pass turning promising breaks into genuine chances.

One moment summed up his night. Breaking down the flank, Gakpo glanced up, spotted Isak’s run between defenders and shaped an outrageous outside-of-the-foot pass into his path. It carved Ipswich open and set up the second goal, a piece of technique that underlined his growing influence.

Isak was quick to highlight the connection.

“We were talking about when we win the ball to get forward as quickly as possible because that's when things are quite open,” he explained. “Obviously Cody found me twice pretty good. He's done amazingly assisting and finding me in those situations and in good positions where I enjoy having the ball.”

For a Liverpool side still learning its patterns under new management, that understanding between wide forward and striker looks like a crucial early building block.

A new season, not a numbers chase

Three games into his second Liverpool season, Isak already has three goals. For many strikers, that would be the cue to talk about targets, records, golden boots.

He isn’t biting.

“It's still early. I think we still have a lot to learn and it's game by game at this point,” the 26-year-old said, steering the conversation firmly back towards the collective.

After a disrupted first year in red, the temptation to frame this campaign as a personal redemption arc is obvious. Isak’s words, and his performance, suggest something different: a forward folding his own story into a broader rebuild, more interested in rhythm and results than in headlines.

Atletico looming, Anfield waiting

Liverpool will not have long to bask in the relief of that first league win. Atletico Madrid arrive at Anfield on Wednesday night, bringing with them all the tension and tactical edge that fixture always promises.

The trip to Portman Road, then, was more than a routine job against a promoted side. It was a staging post. A night when the training-ground work translated into goals, when the club’s record signing looked like a leader of the new era rather than a symbol of last season’s frustration.

Continental football is back on the horizon. The schedule tightens, the stakes rise. If this was the night Alexander Isak truly stepped into his Liverpool role, how far can this partnership with Gakpo – and this evolving team – take them when the lights go up at Anfield on Wednesday?