FINALLY: Liverpool secure first win under Iraola
by KickOff Reporter · KickOffLiverpool have kickstarted their Premier League campaign with a 2-0 win over Ipswich Town at Portman Road on Friday night.
Teams: Ipswich Town v Liverpool
Result: 0-2
Scorers: Alexander Isak (6', 9')
After back-to-back draws, the Reds were keen to get up and running to give manager Andoni Iraola his first win against a wounded Ipswich who were on the receiving end of a heavy thumping by Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Liverpool got their opening goal after just six minutes as Alexander Isak stepped to the far right of the area to take a neqat pass from Coady Gakpo in his stride and powered the ball beyond goalkeeper Kjell Scherpen.
The duo combined again after three minutes when Isak made a smart forward run towards the centre of the area and capitalised on Gakpo’s through pass to nudge a yard of space and beat the on-rushing Scherpen.
Isak caused more misery for the visitors late in the half and rattled the net again when he showed the presence of mind to guide a teasing delivery from Florian Wirtz into the bottom-corner, but it was flagged for offside.
The home team who offered little having fallen apart in the first ten minutes looked to engineer a route back late on from a move on the left of the attack by Daizen Maeda, but Alisson Becker clawed it out.
Second Half:
Ipswich continued to show endeavour minutes into the second half and were close to pulling a goal back when Abdul Fatawu cut in on the far side following a forward run and curled narrowly wide of the top corner.
The Reds made a double substitution following the midway point of the second stanza and two-goal hero Isak made way for Ryan Gravenberch before Vitor Munoz came off for new signing Bradley Barcola to come on for his debut.
Iraola’s men continued probing and won a penalty late on when Dominik Szoboszlai succumbed to a foul from Leif Davis, but the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) intervened and ruled it out after the former had strayed offside in the build-up.
The Tractor boys failed to stage a response inside a quiet closing spell as the Reds were able to hold onto their cushion and walked away with their first victory under Iraola with the host suffering back-to-back defeats.
Upcoming League Fixtures:
Ipswich Town:
1. Crystal Palace (A)
2. Everton (A)
3. Fulham (H)
Liverpool:
1. Fulham (H)
2. Bournemouth (A)
3. Manchester City (H)