Liverpool claimed their first league win at Anfield this season with a 2-0 victory over Brighton, and Alexander Isak scored again to take his tally to six for the campaign.
It has been a long time coming, but Isak appears to be living up to his price tag. The Sweden striker arrived at Anfield amid huge fanfare in August 2025, when he signed from Newcastle for a British record £125m. A slow start, followed by a broken leg in December, made his first season at the club something of a nightmare, as he scored just four goals in 22 games.
This season has been a different story. Isak’s goal on Sunday helped Liverpool beat the Premier League’s in-form side, and the 27-year-old is now averaging almost a goal per game. He has scored more than half of Liverpool’s Premier League goals this season, and only Erling Haaland (nine) has scored more in the division.
A crucial goal from a player still rounding into form
As he did at Brentford last weekend, Isak did not necessarily set the game alight, but his strike gave Liverpool breathing space. Brighton had 64% possession and ended the game with a higher xG than Liverpool, yet the hosts saw the game out. Arguably, it was their finest league display under Andoni Iraola, who secured his first league win at Anfield at the fourth time of asking.
During Isak’s struggles in an injury-plagued 2025-26 campaign, the belief inside the club was that he was a long-term signing and that any judgement should wait until he was fully fit. Recent performances suggest that patience is being rewarded.
“Today, the performance was really good against a really good team,” Isak said. “The first half is really what we want to be about – winning balls and the intensity.”
Iraola said Isak was a threat in those positions and that the team needed to supply him with good crosses. He added that it came down to Bradley Barcola winning his duel and being quicker than the opposition to get Liverpool into that position.
Aggressive from the outset
The fans who braved the conditions after Storm Boelo saw Liverpool attack aggressively from the start. They also defended well to keep a Brighton side that had scored 15 league goals in their previous four games at bay. Apart from an early chance for Yasin Ayari, which he blazed over, Fabian Hurzeler‘s side had no major chances of note.
Ronald Araujo was again immense, and the Liverpool backline kept its fourth clean sheet in eight league games this season. Liverpool had just 35.6% possession, their second lowest on record (since 2003-04) in a Premier League home win. That suggests the quality the club has going forward means it can be comfortable letting teams come to Anfield and have more of the ball, especially if they are not set up in a low block.
Florian Wirtz and Barcola were both excellent, and Cody Gakpo threatened all afternoon. Wirtz was unlucky not to be credited with the goal, as his strike took a deflection off Pascal Gross and gave Liverpool the lead.
Injury concern and a repeated celebration
Wirtz’s confidence is growing in a Liverpool shirt, and his impact on games is clear. However, he was substituted in the second half, and the club will hope he is not set for a spell on the sidelines. “Unfortunately, he had to leave the pitch with a small twist of the ankle,” Iraola said. “It doesn’t look very big but we are playing every three days so we need to see where he is.”
Barcola’s style can energise a crowd, and the way he won possession for Isak’s goal reflected exactly what Iraola wanted, with a high press and a real desire to win the ball back. That left Isak to finish instinctively, and Barcola then imitated Isak’s celebration, just as they did last weekend in west London. The win moved Liverpool up to fourth.
The trio cost the club a combined £248m. If they keep combining and winning games, that will serve Iraola and Liverpool well. Arsenal are next up in the league.