Alexander Isak’s Liverpool Debut Had A Familiar Ending

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 17: Alexander Isak and Virgil van Dijk of Liverpool applaud fans after the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD1 match between Liverpool FC and Atletico de Madrid at Anfield on September 17, 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

Liverpool FC via Getty Images

A game that began with excitement and anticipation around the debut of a new record signing, ended with with some old favorites on the scoresheet and drama of a purely sporting kind as Liverpool claimed another late victory.

All of the focus ahead of Liverpool’s opening Champions League league phase game, against Atlético Madrid on Wednesday night, was on Alexander Isak, who was thrown straight into the starting lineup having not even featured in the squad against Burnley at the weekend.

How does any player live up to a $170 million price tag? When he joined Liverpool at the beginning of the month, Isak became the third most expensive transfer of all time, behind Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.

It is impossible, really. The best a player can do in this scenario is make people forget about the fee, as all the most successful big signings tend to do through consistently good performances.

There was almost an element of disbelief when the Liverpool lineup was released. Isak had actually arrived. A saga that had dragged on throughout the 2025 summer transfer window, and was only completed on September 1, the day it closed, was filled with AI images of Isak in Liverpool colors. The story became bigger than the basic act of one club signing a player from another. So much so that the early season game between Newcastle and Liverpool was part of the transfer narrative rather than a soccer match.

Isak as a Liverpool player had only previously existed digitally, through back and forth on social media and through transfer bids rejected and, eventually, accepted. He was now there for real, and fans got their first look at him as he sprinted out of the Anfield dugout to warm up.

During the usual round of shooting practice in front of the Kop pre-kick-off, Isak didn’t miss. One of his finishes drew gasps from the crowd and they were all applauded. Certainly more crowd response than is usually seen from a warm-up.

Only Mohamed Salah’s name was cheered as loudly as Isak’s when the teams were read out. Anfield expected.

The presence of Isak, and another big summer signing, Florian Wirtz, in the center of the field, appears to have pushed Liverpool’s wingers, Salah and Cody Gakpo, wider than usual during build-up play. It’s not yet a totally convincing attacking setup, but the opening stages of this game were the best sign yet that it will work as the first goals arrived early in quick succession.

With all the attacking stars, new and old, left-back Andy Robertson would have been the last player predicted to score Liverpool’s opening goal, but it was he who deflected in a Salah free kick, somewhat unintentionally, within just five minutes.

Salah made it two a couple of minutes later, as the old guard made their presence felt amid the excitement of newness.

A nice bit of skill from Isak, driving at goal on the edge of the area, drew a reaction from the crowd, who were hanging on his every touch. Watching his every run.

That’s why hearts were in mouths when he went down following a nasty challenge from Robin Le Normand, but the Swede hobbled on and ran off the knock. It could have been much worse given the angle of the challenge, and there might have been a case for Le Normand to receive more than the yellow card he was shown for the challenge.

There were oohs and aahs as Isak sent one shot just wide and tested Atlético Madrid goalkeeper Jan Oblak’s concentration with another.

Isak’s presence definitely had a positive effect on another of Liverpool’s big summer signings, Florian Wirtz. The German is yet to really make the big impact his own transfer fee suggested he might, but the potential for him to do so is obviously there.

Some of his link-ups with Isak were the most promising and lively he’s looked so far in a Liverpool shirt. He was able to find space and carry the ball and the team forward, something that was expected of him as he signed for the club. It’s only a matter of time before these two new attackers start combining for goals.

Isak’s presence may also have had a positive effect on Hugo Ekitike, whose place he took in the starting lineup. Ekitike replaced Isak just before the hour mark and was involved immediately, holding the ball up impressively and pressing the opposition intensely, much to the delight of the fans, who sang his name.

As it turned out, Liverpool started creating the kind of openings from which an elite finisher such as Isak would have benefited.

Wirtz shifted to the left, meaning Dominik Szoboszlai was able to move further forward and offer his tireless running to the counter-attack. He and Wirtz almost got in each other’s way as they created a good chance for Salah that hit the post, while Ekitike sent another chance over the bar.

As it was Liverpool were almost made to rue the missed opportunities. Atleti had already grabbed a goal back just before halftime through Marcos Llorente, and the midfielder added a second via an even bigger deflection than his first to level the scores within the final ten minutes of the game.

Conor Bradley crossed the ball into an Isak-shaped hole as Liverpool pushed for a winner, but no one else fit the bill to get on the end of it.

In the end, there was one player who fit the bill. When Szoboszlai sent in an outswinging corner in the dying seconds of added time, Van Dijk rose to emphatically head the ball into the far corner of Oblak’s net in front of the Kop.

The grandstand that had begun the evening applauding and relishing the training ground finishes of a new signing, ended it with exuberant celebrations for their old captain.