Isak's two quickfire goals put Liverpool ahead early against Ipswich
Liverpool raced into a two-goal lead at Ipswich Town within the first nine minutes as Alexander Isak scored twice off Cody Gakpo assists, though the hosts began creating chances of their own soon after.
Match action
In a Premier League fixture at Portman Road, Liverpool took a commanding early lead over hosts Ipswich Town. In the sixth minute, Alexander Isak converted a Cody Gakpo pass, beating a defender before slotting the ball past goalkeeper Kjell Scherpen, who got a touch on it but could not keep it out. Three minutes later, Isak struck again: Gakpo played a defence-splitting ball from his own half past Jacob Greaves, and Isak rolled it into an empty net past the onrushing keeper to make it 2-0.
According to statistics compiled by the BBC, this marked the earliest Ipswich Town have ever conceded two goals in a Premier League match, and the earliest a Liverpool player has scored twice in a league game since Maxi Rodríguez did so against Fulham in May 2011. The double also took Isak's tally against Ipswich Town to five goals in just three career appearances — a record he only betters against Nottingham Forest, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham.
Ipswich responded after the early setback, with Abdul Fatawu forcing a save from Alisson and Julio Enciso having a shot from outside the box blocked. Liverpool midfielder Alexis Mac Allister was booked for a foul shortly after the second goal.
Line-ups and context
According to Liverpool FC's official site, Ronald Araujo came into the starting XI in the only change from the previous match against Nottingham Forest, replacing Jeremie Frimpong. The team lined up with Alisson, Van Dijk, Jacquet, Kerkez, Wirtz, Szoboszlai, Isak, Mac Allister, Gakpo and Munoz. New signing Bradley Barcola was named among the substitutes for the first time after joining from Paris Saint-Germain in a deal reported by the BBC at around £123m, while Swedish outlet Aftonbladet described it as a fee of over €100m.
The match carried added significance for Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola, who was seeking his first win in charge; Sky Sports noted before kick-off that Liverpool had gone six games without a win across the two seasons. Ipswich Town, meanwhile, had opened their season with a win over Sunderland.
Ahead of the game, Sky Sports predicted a 2-2 scoreline and highlighted the form of Ipswich left-back Leif Davis, while Swedish outlet Expressen forecast that both teams would score. Aftonbladet had warned beforehand about Ipswich's threat on the counter-attack, singling out forwards Daizen Maeda and Julio Enciso as potential problems for Liverpool's defence.
