Alexander Isak has hit the ground running at this summer’s World Cup in what will be a hugely welcome sight for Liverpool supporters.
There had been concerns that the Sweden striker would continue to look ring rusty after a stop-start debut campaign with the Reds, but he has instead appeared sharp and impressive.
Although Sweden were hammered 5-1 by the Netherlands on Saturday, Isak earned praise from Daniel Sturridge for being at the centre of everything good his team did.
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And while Liverpool fans will not have been surprised to see Isak as the main man for his nation, they may be raising an eyebrow at just how creative the No. 9 has been. With three assists in two games so far, he is currently the leading goal-maker at the World Cup.
Isak shows off his creative side
When Liverpool fans think of Isak, they are largely still drawing on their experiences of watching him play for other teams, mainly Newcastle.
Having made only eight Premier League starts for the Reds so far, most of that while playing himself into fitness, they do not really have a picture of the kind of player he can be for their own club.
But while that has perhaps led to him being profiled as purely a lethal scorer of goals, Isak is much more than that, and he also has a creative side as well.
He has demonstrated that magnificently at the World Cup, with his two assists against Tunisia showcasing different aspects of goal creation.
For the first he did well to win the ball back high up the pitch, before delivering it on a plate for Viktor Gyokeres. With Liverpool expected to press high under Andoni Iraola, this was a brilliant sign.
Some may have put his second assist of that night down to luck, but his acrobatic touch to ensure that Mattias Svanberg was not offside was very deliberate, controlled and unique. There aren’t many players who could pull that off.
Finally, even with his team 4-0 down at the time, Isak showed composure, weight of pass and perfect execution to set Anthony Elanga up on Saturday evening. The ball was absolutely inch-perfect from a No. 10 position, and showcased that Isak is so, so much more than just a penalty box poacher.
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Isak can be more than a goal scorer for Liverpool
It is obviously not Liverpool supporters’ faults that they have not really seen this – or any – side of Isak since he joined the club last September.
But now that they are finally seeing him get a bit of a run together, he is showcasing why Liverpool spent so heavily to bring him in.
Obviously, with Mohamed Salah having now departed, the Reds need someone to pick up the slack in terms of scoring goals. The main onus of that will fall on Isak next season and he will be expected to deliver.
But Salah was also Liverpool’s most prolific player in terms of setting goals up. Somebody is going to have to take that mantle on as well.
Liverpool have other players to do that, and that is probably why Florian Wirtz was signed. Isak is showing that he can chip in as well, though, and that is a very welcome surprise for Reds fans tuning in to the World Cup.
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