Alexander Isak thriving as Andoni Iraola sharpens Liverpool’s attack

Liverpool have begun the new season with a freshness that has stirred the crowd and raised expectations, and at the heart of it all stands Alexander Isak. As David Lynch notes, there is a cruel twist in that for Arne Slot, who must surely look on and wonder what might have been had he been able to call upon a fully fit, fully firing version of the striker during his own time in charge.

That is the nature of top-level football. Fine margins decide reputations, and elite forwards change moods, matches and seasons. Liverpool paid £125m for Isak because they believed he could do exactly that. Now, at last, they are seeing why.

Alexander Isak finding his Liverpool rhythm

Four Premier League goals in five games is the kind of return that alters the tone of a campaign. Isak has already moved beyond last season’s league total of three, and done so in far less time. There is a sharpness to him now, a certainty in his movement, that was missing when he first arrived at Anfield under difficult circumstances.

The drawn-out nature of the move from Newcastle left him playing catch-up from the beginning. By the time he was physically ready, another setback followed, a broken leg suffered at Tottenham after Micky van de Ven’s challenge. It wrecked momentum and reduced his debut year to fragments, glimpses and frustration.

That context matters. It helps explain why Liverpool’s huge investment looked, for a while, like a story postponed. Now the story has begun properly.

Andoni Iraola unlocking centre-forward quality

Andoni Iraola deserves credit for more than simply having Isak available. Good coaches do not merely place great forwards on the pitch and hope. They construct patterns, spaces and habits that bring them alive. Liverpool’s early-season attacking play has done precisely that.

Isak has played 415 minutes this term compared to 703 in his first season, yet he is already just two shots short of matching the previous total of 17. His expected goals figure has also climbed from 2.6xG to 3.54xG, evidence of a striker being fed better chances in better areas.

That points to structure, timing and service. It speaks to a side creating with greater purpose and to a coach who understands how to platform a centre-forward. Only Erling Haaland is currently ahead of Isak on that latter measure, which tells its own story about the level he is beginning to reach again.

Liverpool transfer regrets and renewed promise

There may still be some at Liverpool who reflect on the transfer saga and wonder whether the process could have been handled more smoothly, especially given the fee remained so vast by the end. Newcastle, too, may look back on a stubborn stance that delayed the inevitable and complicated their own planning.

But recriminations have a short shelf life when a striker starts deciding games. What matters now is that Liverpool have the player they thought they were buying, and that he is starting to tilt matches in their favour. There is even a telling detail in the report, that Iraola, true to his demanding reputation, has pushed Isak privately to improve his work rate at the top end of the pitch.

That should excite Liverpool supporters as much as the goals. It suggests there is more to come from a striker already looking decisive.

Our View

From a Liverpool fan’s perspective, this report feels both reassuring and tantalising. Reassuring because it confirms what many suspected all along, that last season never gave Alexander Isak a fair stage. Tantalising because if this is him after only a handful of matches in a settled rhythm, then the ceiling looks frighteningly high.

There is something deeply encouraging about the idea that Iraola still wants more. Supporters can live with a manager demanding extra from a player who is already producing, because that usually means standards are being set where they should be, right at the top. The best Liverpool sides have always had that edge to them, that refusal to settle.

What stands out most is how quickly Isak seems to be becoming the reference point in attack. Liverpool have had brilliant forwards over the years, but every team needs one figure who gives defenders sleepless nights before kick-off. It already feels like Isak is becoming that man.

There will be tougher tests ahead and there will be quieter afternoons too. That is football. But if Liverpool can keep him fit and keep supplying him in these areas, there is no reason he cannot sit in the same bracket as the division’s most feared strikers. For fans, that is the thrilling part. This does not feel like a purple patch. It feels like the real beginning.