To say Alexander Isak has had a rough start to his Liverpool career would be a massive understatement. The big money move for the striker has not panned out to much end product due to a mixture of poor form and injury layoffs. With leading goal scorer Hugo Ekitike now out for the season, Isak will be needed by the Reds during an extremely important run in with Champions League qualification on the line.
Isak made a major contribution against Crystal Palace on Saturday, netting the opening goal against a side
that has beaten the Reds three times already this season. The goal jumpstarted the attack (to some degree) for the Reds, leading to a 3-1 win that moved the side past Aston Villa in the Premier League table. After the match, Isak felt his side played well enough in a deserved win despite some nerves as the game was closed to 2-1 in the 71st minute.
“Crystal Palace are a good competitor and never an easy game. I think we played well in big parts of the game and maybe it shouldn’t have had to be that nervy at the end. We played well and really good from the lads as well to manage to get the third.”
Isak’s goal was an interesting one as he ended up putting a foot out to control a hard shot from teammate Alexis Mac Allister, cushioning the ball before quickly placing the ball in the corner of the net. It was a slick bit of skill to control the shot, with Isak saying he thought the ball was off target.
“I felt like that shot was not going in so I kind of intercepted it and it became a good touch. Then I managed to put it into the back of the net.”
The goal was Isak’s third goal of the season, and the first since suffering a broken leg while scoring a goal in the winter. The Swedish striker has just begun to return to fitness and has looked rusty in his first few run outs. He feels that getting a goal under his belt will go a long way to helping him feel settled and back to form.
“I’ve been battling getting back to full fitness and obviously scoring a goal is probably the best way to finding your form again. Obviously I’m really happy.”
