Alexander Isak’s debut in numbers as Liverpool star fails to impress against Atletico
Liverpool secured a dramatic 3-2 victory over Atletico Madrid, in a game which saw Alexander Isak make his long-awaited debut.
Isak started over Hugo Ekitike despite the Frenchman’s strong form, and the Sweden star came in despite lacking match sharpness.
The 25-year-old appeared for the first time after his British record transfer, which caused controversy as Isak forced his way out of Newcastle to join Liverpool.
Liverpool found goals through Andy Robertson, Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk, with Isak not playing a part in any of them, in what was a fairly quiet debut.
Alexander Isak has quiet Liverpool debut
Isak lasted 58 minutes at Anfield against Atletico, where there were flashes of his quality, but it was also clear that he will need time to get up to full speed.
The 25-year-old started alongside Cody Gakpo and Salah in a deadly front three, but Liverpool flew into a 2-0 lead before he even touched the ball.
- Salah fired in a shot which deflected in off Robertson to give Liverpool an early lead.
- The Egyptian then doubled the lead just a few minutes later, with Isak not involved at all.
Isak did fire off two shots as he got into threatening positions on a couple of occasions, but he managed just four touches in the opposition box, with just one of his shots going on target, as per Sofascore.
The striker completed just one dribble, and won less than half his duels despite Atletico’s defence starting the game in the worst way possible.
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Game state affected Alexander Isak’s debut
The bizarre nature of the game meant that Isak could not enjoy a goalscoring debut, as Liverpool raced into an early lead without his involvement, but then found themselves under a bit of Atletico pressure.
Atletico tightened up defensively and Liverpool also had to be wary of them on the counterattack after the two goals, rather than dominating in a manner which would have seen Isak get into shooting positions more as the game went on.
There will be plenty more to come from Isak, but the question remains over who should start the Merseyside derby, given that Ekitike is in strong form.
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