Andoni Iraola registered his first win as Liverpool head coach as Alexander Isak scored twice inside nine minutes to beat Ipswich 2-0. The Reds had been held in the opening two matches of Iraola's reign to spark memories of his start to life at Bournemouth in 2023 where it took 10 matches before a win. However, Isak, who had scored a hat-trick on his last visit to Portman Road with Newcastle, came to the party and took advantage of some lacklustre goalkeeping from Kjell Scherpen.
His first went through the palms of Scherpen on six minutes before the goalkeeper went walkabout from a long ball minutes later and was beaten by a low finish by Isak. Both goals came via a Cody Gakpo assist, whose lightning start to life under Iraola continues. Following his £123m move from PSG, Bradley Barcola made his debut off the bench in the second half as Liverpool reigned in their attacking play to produce a very organised and professional performance to bag a first clean sheet of the Iraola reign.
There was some refereeing controversy though as Ipswich felt Jérémy Jacquet should have been shown a second yellow card for a tackle on Emersonn that wasn't even awarded as a foul. This defeat made it two in a row for Ipswich but, after they recovered from their nightmare start, Gary O'Neil's team produced a competitive display and were cheered off by the home fans at a packed out Portman Road. 6: GOAL! Isak receives a quality pass into his stride from Gakpo and powers a strike past the weak wrists of Scherpen. 9: GOAL!
With Ipswich still reeling, Isak finds a way in behind down the left before sliding a neat finish past Scherpen, who once again didn't get his angles right. . 30: CHANCE! Leif Davis meets a cross from the right but heads wide with Liverpool looking vulnerable. 33: ISAK GOAL RULED OUT! Isak thinks he's got a first-half hat-trick after a fine cross from Florian Wirtz but he went just early and is flagged. 53: NO SECOND YELLOW?
Already on a booking for a foul on Emersonn, Jacquet challenges from behind and doesn't seem to get much of the ball. No foul is awarded much to the anger of the Ipswich crowd. 66: BARCOLA ARRIVES! The £123m man, Barcola, makes his Premier League debut. 70: NO PENALTY TO LIVERPOOL!
VAR steps in to spot a foul by Davis on Dominik Szoboszlai but after coming to the screen, referee Darren England is told by Stockley Park that Szoboszlai was offside in the build-up. Liverpool striker Alexander Isak speaking to Sky Sports: "We were waiting for the first win, and we were talking about staring the game good which we haven't done recently. And we did that with two goals.
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