On his debut the £125m striker was rusty but there were plenty of signs of what is to come
By minute 9 Isak had still not touched the ball. As Liverpool rolled it around the pitch, the Swede shifted from left to right between his centre-backs, tense, his eyes following the ball, like a dog waiting to play catch. Throw it right now and I’ll lunge for it.
At one point he dropped in between the lines, at another he motioned for the pass but it didn’t come.
When he did get his first touch it was unremarkable, on the supporting end of a simple give-and-go that didn’t even come off, because Ryan Gravenberch had been impeded and Isak’s return pass rolled harmlessly out for a goal kick.
By this time Liverpool were 2-0 up and had 75 per cent possession. Their main man was their forever main man Mohamed Salah, with a freekick in off Andy Robertson’s calf and then a second goal that saw him outmuscle three Atletico defenders. It threw Diego Simeone’s side into disarray before some fans could even have properly settled in for the game.
But the odd thing about this particular game was how Atletico slowly grew into it, their power swelling as the minutes went by. When teams concede two quickfire early goals it is not uncommon for them to lose the handle on the entire affair, or at least for their opponents to maintain a vice-like grip on it, but the Spanish contingent only seemed to shed their fallibility.
Isak, 13 minutes now in his tank, also began to rise to the occasion. His second act of the night saw him receive the ball out on the left from Dominik Szoboslai, then dance dangerously towards the edge of the box, a shimmy and he was past Marcos Llorente, the right-back grabbing vainly onto his shirt as he plotted and then pinged a pass to Cody Gakpo near the penalty arc.
It ultimately came to nothing but the Swede was warming up. On minute 29 he collected on the right flank, feinted and tried to pirouette away from Clement Lenglett, but the Frenchman snapped the ball out for a throw.
A debut for a new club in a packed home stadium, on a European night, against a famously plucky side, with over £100m’s worth of a bullseye affixed to your back, was always going to be a tricky affair. A mentality, rather than a football, test. Isak didn’t disappoint.
The Swede cuts a dashing figure, 6ft 4in with dark glistening skin and large lustrous eyes. At Anfield he looked at home in his red No 9 shirt, walking some, jogging some, dashing at the ball occasionally, making the run when he sniffed an opportunity. And when he was the object of a particularly imperious challenge he came out of it all smiles, flashing his sparkling teeth to the Liverpool faithful. It is easy to see why he rose to cult status at St James’ Park. The same is almost inevitable at Anfield.
The highlight of the late night show was a moment when Isak received the ball just inside the box, his striker instincts flaring up as he pirouetted on the spot and scooped the ball goalwards. If he had scored, it would have been too fast for even the Atletico defenders to follow the flight of the ball. But it careened harmlessly to the other side of the far post.
Not long afterwards there was a second chance in just about the same spot. The same striker instincts, turn and shoot. Jan Oblak dropped down and parried. Again a let off for Atletico, but signs of things to come for the Liverpool support.
On minute 58 his replacement Hugo Ekitike came up to the touchline alongside Alexis Mac Allister and Conor Bradley. Off went the Swede, breathing heavily. He had not lasted a full hour, but the only surprise was that he had emerged at all from the tunnel after the break. He just isn’t at that level of fitness yet.
There was a standing ovation. Isak applauded back and then broke into a run. Anfield had seen a glimpse of its newly acquired talent, the rusty, beta version. It liked what it saw. Bring on the main act.
