Alexander Isak finally broke his Premier League duck for Liverpool, firing the Reds to a badly needed 2-0 win at West Ham that eased some of the heat on under-fire boss Arne Slot. The £125m signing had gone five league games without a goal since his record switch from Newcastle, but he picked the perfect moment to get off the mark.
The Sweden striker arrived at the London Stadium with just one goal in 10 games for his new club, that coming in the League Cup against Southampton. This time, though, there was no hiding. On the hour, he swept home Cody Gakpo’s cut-back and slid on his knees with a mix of relief and defiance. Gakpo later killed it off in stoppage time to seal Liverpool’s first win in four across all competitions.
It hasn’t been pretty for Liverpool. The midweek 4-1 collapse at PSV was their third straight defeat by three goals or more, following 3-0 batterings from Manchester City and Nottingham Forest. Slot’s side had lost nine of their last 12, their worst run since the 1953-54 season, and questions were mounting about dressing-room belief. Mohamed Salah’s form has also dipped alarmingly, with just five goals all season, leading Slot to bench him again here.
Isak himself hasn’t looked fully sharp, lacking fitness after a messy summer and missing pre-season. His afternoon actually started badly, ballooning a simple early chance miles over the bar. But Liverpool eventually settled after West Ham’s emotional tribute to club icon Billy Bonds, who died on Sunday aged 79. The Hammers roared out of the blocks in his honour and had Liverpool rocking for a spell.
Isak almost opened the scoring with a spectacular bicycle kick, only for Alphonse Areola to claw it away brilliantly. That was just his second shot on target in the league all season. Liverpool even went direct to try and spark him, Alisson punting long for Isak to flick into Florian Wirtz’s path, but the German scuffed straight at Areola. Still, Isak kept going and finally got his reward with a crisp finish low into the far corner.
Slot hooked him soon after, greeting him with a handshake as the away end belted his name. West Ham’s chance of a comeback evaporated on 84 minute when Lucas Paqueta talked himself into a stupid red card. Already booked for dissent after moaning at Darren England, he refused to back off and was shown a second yellow on the spot.
Liverpool wrapped it up in added time, West Ham making a mess of a clearance and Gakpo spinning to lash home from 12 yards. The win nudges Liverpool up to eighth and, while nobody at Anfield will pretend the crisis is over, Isak’s long-awaited breakthrough gives them something to cling to before another tough run of fixtures closes in.
