- Published
It has been a long time coming but Alexander Isak might finally be living up to his price tag.
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Isak → publish → tag
The Sweden striker arrived at Anfield amid huge fanfare in August 2025 when he signed from Newcastle for a British record £125m.
But a combination of a slow start and then suffering a broken leg in December meant his first season at the Reds became something of a nightmare - scoring just four goals in 22 games.
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season → arrive → games
Isak's goal against Brighton on Sunday helped Liverpool to an impressive 2-0 win against the Premier League's in-form side, taking his tally to six for the campaign already.
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goal → help → campaign
The 27-year-old is averaging almost a goal per game and has scored more than half of Liverpool's Premier League goals this season.
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old → average → goals
Like last weekend at Brentford, Isak didn't necessarily set the game alight, but again it was another crucial goal from the Swede.
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it → set → Swede
His strike gave Liverpool breathing space against a Brighton team that had 64% possession and actually ended the game with a higher xG than Andoni Iraola's side.
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that → give → side
In the end, Liverpool saw the game out and this was arguably their finest display in the league under Iraola, who secured his first league win at Anfield at the fourth time of asking.
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who → see → asking
Only Erling Haaland (nine) has scored more Premier League goals this season than Isak and when Liverpool signed him from Newcastle these were the numbers they expected.
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they → score → Newcastle
During Isak's struggles in an injury-plagued campaign in 2025-26, the belief inside the club was that this was a long-term signing and any judgement would be reserved for when he was fully fit.
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he → plague → club
Judging by recent performances, that patience is proving to be warranted.
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patience → judge → performances
"Today, the performance was really good against a really good team," Isak said.
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Isak → say → team
"The first half is really what we want to be about - winning balls and the intensity."
The exciting thing for Iraola and Liverpool is that Isak is nowhere near his best yet, and that should be a cause of worry for the rest of the top flight.
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that → want → flight
"Alex [Isak] is threatening, especially if we can get him in those positions and we can provide him good crosses.
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we → get → crosses
In this case, it's a matter of Bradley [Barcola] winning the duel and being faster than the opposition to get us in that position," said Iraola.
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Iraola → win → position
The fans who braved the conditions after Storm Boelo were treated to a display where Liverpool were aggressive from the outset and defended really well to keep a Brighton side that scored 15 league goals in their previous four games at bay.
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that → brave → bay
Bar an early chance for Yasin Ayari, which the Swede blazed over, Fabian Hurzeler's side didn't have any major chances of note.
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side → blaze → note
Ronald Araujo was again immense and the Liverpool backline kept their fourth clean sheet in eight league games this season.
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backline → keep → games
Iraola's Bournemouth side certainly preferred to have less of the ball and this was a reminder that, with the quality at his disposal going forward, Liverpool are perhaps fine with teams coming to Anfield and having more of the ball, especially if it means the opposition aren't set up in a low block.
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opposition → prefer → block
Both Florian Wirtz and Barcola were excellent and Cody Gakpo threatened all afternoon too, with Wirtz unlucky not to be credited for the goal when his strike took a deflection off Pascal Gross and gave Liverpool the lead.
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strike → threaten → lead
Slowly but surely, his confidence is increasing in a Liverpool shirt and it is clear to see the impact he has on a game.
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he → increase → game
The German just needs the numbers to improve on his end and Liverpool will hope that he isn’t set for a spell on the sidelines after he was substituted in the second half.
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he → need → half
"Unfortunately, he had to leave the pitch with a small twist of the ankle," said Iraola.
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Iraola → have → ankle
"It doesn't look very big but we are playing every three days so we need to see where he is."
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he → look → days
As for Barcola, there is a style to his play that can energise a crowd and the way he won possession for Isak's goal felt like it ticked off exactly what Iraola wanted with the high press and sheer desire to win the ball back.
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Iraola → be → ball
That left Isak to finish instinctively and Barcola imitated Isak's celebration, just like they did last weekend in west London, as Liverpool moved up to fourth.
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Liverpool → leave → fourth
Theirs is a combination that cost the Reds a total of £248m but if they can keep on combining and winning games, that will do just fine for Iraola and Liverpool.
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that → cost → Iraola
The Aporia
