Alexander Isak finally looked like the striker Liverpool paid £125 million for, even if the result didn’t go his way. The Swedish forward scored in a 3-2 preseason defeat to Monaco at Anfield, marking new manager Andoni Iraola’s first match in charge and giving nervous Liverpool supporters their first real glimpse of a front pairing with Florian Wirtz that has yet to click through a bumpy start to the season.
Isak arrived at Liverpool last summer in the most expensive transfer in British football history, a British-record £125 million deal that ended a bitter standoff with Newcastle United after he forced his way out of St James’ Park. He had scored 23 goals and added six assists in 34 Premier League appearances the previous season, finishing as Newcastle’s top scorer in all competitions. But his first year on Merseyside was disrupted by a leg fracture suffered just before Christmas, limiting him to 22 appearances and four goals as Liverpool searched for the partnership everyone expected to see immediately.
Isak and Wirtz Under the Microscope
The pressure has only intensified since. Liverpool opened the Premier League season with a 2-2 draw at Newcastle, where Isak played all 90 minutes in his first return to St James’ Park since forcing his exit, enduring jeers from the crowd he once played for. He managed four shots and two Opta-defined “big chances” but failed to convert either, while Dominik Szoboszlai’s stoppage-time penalty rescued the point. A follow-up draw with Nottingham Forest did little to ease the scrutiny.
Gary Neville didn’t hold back afterward. Speaking on his podcast, the former Manchester United defender called Isak and Wirtz Liverpool’s “biggest disappointment” from the Newcastle draw, noting the pair have combined for more than £200 million in transfer fees and have been given a “free ride” for too long. “They’re going to have to start playing sooner or later, or else they’re going to get quite a lot of criticism,” Neville said, adding that both players are “too nice” for a front two carrying that price tag. He was careful to note he still believes in Isak specifically, recalling the striker’s devastating form against Arsenal’s and Liverpool’s own center-back pairings while at Newcastle. “That’s £125m they’ve spent on him,” Neville said. “Now Liverpool fans and his team-mates and coaching staff, they need to see that.”
Signs of Life Against Monaco
The Monaco match offered the first tangible signs of progress. Isak opened the scoring in the 16th minute with a clinical finish, and combined with Wirtz for Liverpool’s second goal roughly 15 minutes later before Monaco stormed back to win 3-2 with a late Paris Brunner strike. Speaking to Liverpoolfc.com afterward, Isak sounded encouraged by simply being back in front of the Anfield crowd. “It was good. Really nice to be back at home, back in front of the fans and get some more minutes into the legs. So, that felt good,” he said. On his fitness trajectory under Iraola, he added, “I feel good, I feel good. Every game hopefully should take me to a better fitness level, so that’s what I’m working towards.”
Isak also touched on the growing understanding between the club’s expensive front two, even joking about who actually got the final touch on Liverpool’s second goal. “I think we agreed, me and Flo, that we both got a touch on the ball. But obviously I don’t know who got the first one or the last one,” he said. He struck an optimistic tone about the group under its new manager: “I feel like the spirit is good in the group and we’re all working hard to make things work. We’re going to make sure that we’re ready for the start.”
What Comes Next for Liverpool
Iraola inherited a team still adjusting to life without Mohamed Salah, whose departure left a void in goals and leadership that Isak and Wirtz were specifically brought in to fill. So far, results haven’t matched the outlay, and bettors weighing in on Premier League odds have watched Liverpool’s title price drift as the early results piled up. Wirtz, for his part, has managed just eight league goal involvements since his own nine-figure move from Bayer Leverkusen a year ago, numbers Neville flagged as similarly underwhelming.
Still, there’s a case for patience. Isak is only a handful of matches into life under a new manager and still building match sharpness after a serious injury layoff. The Monaco performance, even in defeat, showed the technical quality that made him one of the Premier League’s most feared strikers before the move. Whether that translates into consistent Premier League production — and whether Iraola can find the right shape to get both Isak and Wirtz firing together — will go a long way toward defining Liverpool’s season. For now, all eyes stay on Anfield’s £125 million man to see if Sunday’s Monaco outing was the turning point or just a flash of what might have been.
