Ian Doyle with the main talking point from Liverpool's Premier League clash at Bournemouth on Sunday afternoon
Alexander Isak of Liverpool celebrates after scoring (Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Alexander Isak of Liverpool celebrates after scoring (Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
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For a worrying period of this game, it appeared Alexander Isak had regressed to his 2025/26 version rather than the one that has started this season so encouragingly.
A fitful showing feeding off scraps was encapsulated when, shortly after half-time, he found himself free on the right flank only to send his attempted cross closer to Southampton than Djordje Petrovic’s goal.
“What a waste of money!” came the inevitable refrain from the taunting Bournemouth fans.
They should have known a lot better. It was here a couple of years ago that their jeering of former Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez after a heavy touch prompted the Uruguayan to almost immediately smash in a worldie.
Isak’s response wasn’t quite so instant or emphatic. But less than a quarter-of-an-hour later, he was the player in the right place to despatch confidently from close range after Cody Gakpo’s purposeful run and cross had caused consternation in the Bournemouth penalty area.
The Sweden international then sprinted to celebrate in front of the Liverpool supporters in the corner of the Vitality Stadium before being engulfed by fans on the front few rows and an increasing number of team-mates.
The love from the fanbase for Isak has been a long time coming, understandably so given the travails he endured last season following his British record £125million move from Newcastle United.
Indeed, there were a fair chunk questioning the purchase as he proved a shadow of the player who tormented Premier League defences the previous three years.
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Not any more. The chants Isak was afforded from Liverpool fans for the first time following his brace at Ipswich Town a fortnight earlier were replicated here.
And it was precisely the kind of goal for which the Reds paid the big bucks, a predatory effort showing a striker’s instinct to sense an opportunity and an ability to convert. It also turned what was a meandering goalless affair into a second successive away win.
Isak now has four goals already this season - matching his tally for the entirety of the last campaign - and all have been crucial in transforming a game.
That it came exactly a year on from his Premier League debut for Liverpool highlights how his fortunes are now changing. And turning 27 on Monday, it was an early birthday present for both Isak and this developing Reds team.