Newcastle United and Liverpool fans saw Alexander Isak in action for his new club for the first time on Wednesday night, but it was not a debut to remember.
The Reds started their Champions League campaign with a dramatic win, as Virgil van Dijk scored in stoppage time to hand his side yet another late victory. They beat Atletico Madrid 3-2 at Anfield, snatching all three points after initially giving up a two-goal lead.
In that respect, it was a great night for Alexander Isak. His new side have won both their games since his arrival, but his involvement has been limited.
After missing the Burnley game, the 25-year-old was named in the starting XI by Arne Slot on Wednesday night. Isak played 58 minutes, ending his debut with zero goals and zero assists.
While the Sweden international is still regaining his sharpness after sitting out Newcastle United’s pre-season duties, he would have hoped to enjoy a more scintillating debut after his £125million arrival.
Alexander Isak is replaced by Hugo Ekitike during Liverpool vs Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.
Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images
Alexander Isak was not the ‘main outlet’ on his Liverpool debut
Former Liverpool player Stan Collymore believes Isak will have been ‘frustrated’ by his debut, having watched the forward closely on his first appearance for the club.
Towards the end of the first-half at Anfield, Collymore took to X to give his early thoughts on Isak’s debut.
“Watching Isak closely tonight,” he wrote.
“Some early thoughts. Like Haaland at City, he’s going to have to get used to fox in the box mode rather than ball over the top or being found early because every team visiting Anfield will drop off, so he’s going to have to get used to the discipline of getting in the box and sometimes not seeing the ball as much as he did at Newcastle.
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“He’ll be frustrated 25 mins in that despite Liverpool’s quick start, he’s not been the main outlet. No surprises who is but any striker coming in as a record transfer while Salah is around is going to have to play second fiddle. So his work in the box and around the box has to be super focused because the temptation will be to drop off looking for the ball or taking up wide positions.
“He’s pointed 5 times where he wants it so far, clear instruction to a passer where he wants it. At Newcastle he’d get it 3 of those times, at Liverpool he may get none because Salah and Wirtz will get a lot of those balls. Another reason to not get down and keep making the runs. Eventually he’ll strike up a connection with someone but it may take time. Overall, good movement, pacing himself through the half, waiting to connect with someone who’ll see his runs.”
Watching Isak closely tonight. Some early thoughts.
Like Haaland at City, he's going to have to get used to fox in the box mode rather than ball over the top or being found early because every team visiting Anfield will drop off, so he's going to have to get used to the…
— Stan Collymore (@StanCollymore) September 17, 2025
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Liverpool will use Alexander Isak very differently to Newcastle United
During his time at St James’ Park, Isak was the main man. The team was built to supply him with chances, which he so often took. That is why he was able to score 62 goals in 109 Magpies appearances.
Isak had Jacob Murphy supplying him with crosses, while Bruno Guimaraes would aim to set him up centrally. If Newcastle were creating a chance, they wanted it to fall to Isak.
But that will not always be the case at Liverpool. They have a certain Mo Salah in their side, who continues to score at an alarming rate. He is not going to be changing his game to facilitate Isak.
As Collymore says, Isak needs time to build up new relationships. That is something he did not need much of at Newcastle, having scored on his Toon debut back in 2022. Interestingly, that was against Liverpool at Anfield.
All the while, the man who has replaced Isak has enjoyed a flying start. Nick Woltemade scored on his Newcastle debut, handing the Magpies victory over Wolves on Saturday.