Alexander Isak has scored in three Liverpool league games running, with Arsenal next at Anfield
Back from a thigh injury picked up with Sweden, the striker scored the winner at Brentford and the second goal against Brighton. On Sunday he meets one of the Premier League's two leaders.
Editorial board · 27 October 2026
Where his season stands
When Isak limped out of Sweden's 2-1 win over Romania on 25 September, a match in which he had scored, he had four Premier League goals from five appearances. NBC Sports reported at the time that he was Liverpool's leading scorer and that only Erling Haaland had more league goals. Sports Illustrated noted that those five matches had already taken him past his Premier League tally for the whole of last season.
Sweden's manager, Graham Potter, described a minor thigh problem. Isak left the squad for the rest of the international window and missed Liverpool's home defeat by Manchester City on 11 October.
How he came back
He returned at Brentford on 17 October, with Liverpool a goal down. Víctor Muñoz equalised after the hour, and with 20 minutes left Isak, in the club's own report, produced a clever touch and finish for the winner. Brentford had been down to ten men since before half-time and finished with nine. He came off in the 79th minute.
Eight days later, against Brighton, he turned in Bradley Barcola's cross for the second goal, and Liverpool were 2-0 up by the 21st minute. Opta's The Analyst recorded it as his third Premier League game in a row with a goal, his first such run since January 2025, when he scored in eight consecutive matches for Newcastle United. It was also Liverpool's first league win at Anfield since April, against a Brighton side that had arrived third after four straight wins.
What has changed
Isak joined Liverpool from Newcastle in September 2025 for a British record £125m, Al Jazeera reported. His first season stopped on 20 December, when he fractured his fibula while scoring against Tottenham Hotspur, after a challenge by Micky van de Ven that the then manager, Arne Slot, called reckless. He had three goals in 16 appearances for the club at that point.
Slot has since gone. Andoni Iraola took over in June on a two-year contract, and the side around the striker has changed: Mohamed Salah left for Trabzonspor, and Barcola arrived from Paris Saint-Germain on 31 August. It was Barcola's cross that made the goal against Brighton.
What to watch
Arsenal come to Anfield on Sunday 1 November, kick-off 16:30 GMT, level on 21 points with Manchester City at the top. Liverpool are fourth on 15 after eight games, in the table NBC Sports publishes. Arsenal have kept five league clean sheets, joint most in the division with Brighton, according to The Analyst.
Three days later Liverpool travel to Fenerbahçe in the Champions League. Isak played 79 minutes in his first match back; how his minutes are shared across two games in four days is the thing to watch this week.
