It has been a long time coming but Alexander Isak might finally 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. 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.
This season has been a different story. 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. 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.
Like last weekend at Brentford, Isak didn't necessarily set the game alight, but again it was another crucial goal from the 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. 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.
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. 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. Judging by recent performances, that patience is proving to be warranted.
"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." 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. It is Arsenal next up in the league.
"Alex [Isak] is threatening, especially if we can get him in those positions and we can provide him good 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. Isak, Barcola and Wirtz turn up - player ratings for Liverpool v Brighton For Iraola, this was a fourth win in a row since the loss to Manchester City at Anfield a fortnight ago.
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