Ipswich 0-2 Liverpool: Andoni Iraola up and running as Reds boss with Alexander Isak at the double
Report and free match highlights as Alexander Isak nets a double inside the first nine minutes to get Andoni Iraola up and running as Liverpool boss
Friday 4 September 2026 22:28, UK
Andoni Iraola registered his first win as Liverpool head coach as Alexander Isak scored twice inside nine minutes to beat Ipswich 2-0.
The Reds had been held in the opening two matches of Iraola's reign to spark memories of his start to life at Bournemouth in 2023 where it took 10 matches before a win.
However, Isak, who had scored a hat-trick on his last visit to Portman Road with Newcastle, came to the party and took advantage of some lacklustre goalkeeping from Kjell Scherpen.
His first went through the palms of Scherpen on six minutes before the goalkeeper went walkabout from a long ball minutes later and was beaten by a low finish by Isak.
Both goals came via a Cody Gakpo assist, whose lightning start to life under Iraola continues.
Following his £123m move from PSG, Bradley Barcola made his debut off the bench in the second half as Liverpool reigned in their attacking play to produce a very organised and professional performance to bag a first clean sheet of the Iraola reign.
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There was some refereeing controversy though as Ipswich felt Jérémy Jacquet should have been shown a second yellow card for a tackle on Emersonn that wasn't even awarded as a foul.
This defeat made it two in a row for Ipswich but, after they recovered from their nightmare start, Gary O'Neil's team produced a competitive display and were cheered off by the home fans at a packed out Portman Road.
The key moments from Portman Road
6: GOAL! Isak receives a quality pass into his stride from Gakpo and powers a strike past the weak wrists of Scherpen.
9: GOAL! With Ipswich still reeling, Isak finds a way in behind down the left before sliding a neat finish past Scherpen, who once again didn't get his angles right. .
30: CHANCE! Leif Davis meets a cross from the right but heads wide with Liverpool looking vulnerable.
33: ISAK GOAL RULED OUT! Isak thinks he's got a first-half hat-trick after a fine cross from Florian Wirtz but he went just early and is flagged.
53: NO SECOND YELLOW? Already on a booking for a foul on Emersonn, Jacquet challenges from behind and doesn't seem to get much of the ball. No foul is awarded much to the anger of the Ipswich crowd.
66: BARCOLA ARRIVES! The £123m man, Barcola, makes his Premier League debut.
70: NO PENALTY TO LIVERPOOL! VAR steps in to spot a foul by Davis on Dominik Szoboszlai but after coming to the screen, referee Darren England is told by Stockley Park that Szoboszlai was offside in the build-up. No penalty.
Isak: Last season is behind me now
Liverpool striker Alexander Isak speaking to Sky Sports:
"We were waiting for the first win, and we were talking about staring the game good which we haven't done recently. And we did that with two goals.
"With a normal pre-season, I think we're starting to get the way we want to play, being offensive and attack the defence. We showed that today. We scored two and could have scored more.
"It was not easy. It was a long injury, a difficult season in general. I was thinking: I want to have a good World Cup firstly and then to start the season well, which I feel like I've done now.
"That season is kind of behind me, but it wasn't easy."
Is the Ipswich goalkeeper position cursed?
Analysis from Sky Sports' Lewis Jones:
There must be something in the water at Ipswich.
Because their goalkeeper position appears to have become cursed.
The last time the Tractor Boys were promoted, Arijanet Muric arrived from Burnley as the man trusted to be their No.1. What followed was a season littered with costly mistakes at precisely the wrong moments.
Fast-forward to this season and Ipswich have changed the man between the sticks again, but seemingly not the script.
Kjell Scherpen was brought in from Belgian Pro League side Union Saint-Gilloise with the hope that a fresh face would provide some much-needed stability at the top level.
Instead, his first-half performance against Liverpool suggested the curse may be real.
Scherpen was at fault for both of Liverpool's first-half goals, with Isak the grateful beneficiary on each occasion.
Goalkeeping errors are magnified at this level because margins are so thin. A team can spend 45 minutes competing well, executing its game plan and frustrating a superior opponent - only for one moment of indecision to undo all that work. That happened here.
Ipswich need Scherpen to settle quickly because they cannot afford to be fighting two battles: one against the opposition and another against their own goalkeeper.
But after Muric's struggles and now Scherpen's nightmare against Liverpool, you could forgive Ipswich supporters for wondering whether the No 1 shirt comes with a curse attached.
