Liverpool secured a comfortable 2-0 victory away at Ipswich Town, delivering new head coach Andoni Iraola his maiden win since taking charge of the Merseyside club. Alexander Isak was the star of the show, scoring twice in a nine-minute spell in the first half to put the visitors in complete control of the contest.
Isak opened the scoring with a powerful strike before doubling his tally shortly after, spinning away from his marker to slot the ball past Ipswich goalkeeper Kjell Scherpen. The Swedish forward almost had a hat-trick before the half-hour mark when he converted a pass from Florian Wirtz, but the effort was ruled out for offside, denying him a first-half treble.
Liverpool also had a strong penalty appeal turned down midway through the second half. Dominik Szoboszlai went down inside the Ipswich box after a challenge from Leif Davis, prompting a VAR review that saw referee Darren England go to the pitchside monitor. Despite replays appearing to show contact from the Ipswich defender, the officials determined that Szoboszlai had been in an offside position when the incident occurred, and no penalty was given.
The match also marked the much-anticipated debut of Bradley Barcola, who arrived at Anfield in a £123 million move from Paris Saint-Germain. The French winger came on as a substitute for Victor Munoz and impressed with a steady, if unspectacular, performance down the left flank, giving Liverpool fans a glimpse of what to expect from their marquee signing.
Iraola made several changes as the game progressed, introducing Cody Gakpo late on, with the Dutchman deployed as a central striker while Szoboszlai shifted to the right and Barcola continued on the left. Harvey Elliott's replacement Nyoni also entered for Alexis Mac Allister in the closing stages as the visitors managed the game to see out the win.
Ipswich, for their part, tried to find a way back into the match through a series of substitutions. Head coach Kieran McKenna brought on Ouattara and McAteer for Fatawu and Palacios in search of fresh legs, while Clarke and Flemming replaced Maeda and Emersonn earlier in the second half. Flemming looked lively on his debut, causing problems for the Liverpool centre-backs, and forced a save from goalkeeper Alisson late on, though the effort lacked the power to trouble the Brazilian significantly.
Despite Ipswich's efforts to respond, Liverpool controlled the tempo of the match for large stretches and were the more clinical side in front of goal. The result gives Iraola his first taste of victory in Premier League management with the Reds, and will serve as a confidence boost as he continues to implement his ideas at Anfield.
With Isak continuing to demonstrate his goal-scoring instincts and Barcola now off the mark in terms of match minutes following his blockbuster transfer, Liverpool supporters will be encouraged by the signs shown in East Anglia. Attention will now turn to how quickly the new arrivals can settle into Iraola's system as the season progresses.
Based on reporting from Standard Sport.