Alexander Isak silencing Liverpool critics with goals

There is a bad habit in modern football analysis, overcomplicating the job of a centre-forward. Touch maps, pressing angles, link play, heat zones, all useful, all worth noting. But for a striker, the first question remains the obvious one, does he score? Right now, Alexander Isak does.

The noise around Liverpool’s No. 9 has been predictable. He has been accused of drifting through games and lacking involvement for long stretches. Fine. That can be discussed. What matters more is that the ball keeps ending up in the net. As Ian Rush put it when speaking to BBC Sport, “People say that Isak isn’t getting involved much but he’s scoring goals and that’s all that matters. The hardest thing in football is to score a goal and he’s only second to (Erling) Haaland.”

Alexander Isak numbers tell the story

That is the point. Erling Haaland has nine Premier League goals, Isak has seven, and he has done it in one fewer game. For all the grumbling about his all-round displays, Liverpool have a striker sitting firmly in the Golden Boot conversation. There are worse problems to have.

What also gets ignored is context. Liverpool’s front line has not fully clicked yet. Cody Gakpo and Bradley Barcola are still building chemistry with Isak, and the attack as a unit has looked functional rather than fully polished. Even so, the Sweden international keeps producing decisive moments.

Photo: IMAGO

Liverpool striker benefiting from consistent minutes

Last season was a mess for him physically. Between adductor trouble and a broken fibula, Isak managed only 1,032 minutes in all competitions, returning four goals and one assist. That was during Arne Slot’s final season before his exit in May 2026.

This season, under Andoni Iraola, the picture is different. Isak has already posted eight goals and one assist in 899 minutes across all competitions. That matters because rhythm matters. Fitness matters. Starts matter. Strikers do not build fluency from the treatment room.

Golden Boot race could suit Liverpool forward

There will still be critics, because there always are. Some want a striker to dominate every passage of play. Others want visible industry every minute. Fair enough. But if Liverpool’s centre-forward keeps scoring at this rate, the complaints start sounding cosmetic. The blunt truth is simple, goals settle arguments, and Alexander Isak is giving Liverpool plenty of them.