At Ipswich Town, Alexander Isak scored twice to put Liverpool on the path to victory early on. New signing Bradley Barcola made his Reds debut.
2-2 in Newcastle, 2-2 against Nottingham—and 2-2 in Ipswich too? At least it was clear early on at Portman Road that Liverpool would score at least two goals on Friday night. After Isak first converted a through ball from Gakpo to make it 1-0 (6th minute), the striker added the Reds’ second goal just three minutes later to make it 2-0. Goalkeeper Scherpen didn’t look good on either occasion.
It was the perfect start for Andoni Iraola’s team, who started Barcelona loanee Araujo for the first time—and as a right back. New signing Barcola, whom Liverpool recently acquired from Paris for at least 125 million euros, started on the bench.
The 24-year-old Frenchman’s new teammates continued to dominate and created several chances to add a third goal. The Tractor Boys, who had most recently lost 2–5 at Manchester United, saw Scherpen make three saves on long-range attempts by Szoboszlai (20’, 23’, 40’). However, the score remained 2–0 in favor of the visitors at halftime.
No penalty for the Reds—Ipswich can’t close the gap
With a 2–0 lead, the Reds increasingly scaled back their offensive efforts, so that Isak, Wirtz, and company were hardly noticeable in the second half. Ipswich, in turn, found more confidence but was unable to create any clear-cut chances for a long time.
Instead, the next highlight was the substitution of Barcola, who made his Liverpool debut in the 64th minute. Shortly afterward, Iraola’s team had reason to hope for a penalty kick, but after a VAR review, it was determined that Szoboszlai, who had been fouled, was offside (70th minute). Since Alisson was hardly tested even in the closing stages, Liverpool held on to their two-goal lead without much fanfare.
Ipswich, which suffered its second loss to a Premier League heavyweight, faces Crystal Palace on the road this Saturday (4 p.m.). The Reds, who secured their first win, will kick off their Champions League campaign on Wednesday (9 p.m.) against Atlético Madrid, before hosting Fulham on Saturday (4 p.m.).