Alexander Isak’s long wait for his first home Premier League goal finally ended after 236 days, as Liverpool defeated Crystal Palace 3-1. The Swedish striker’s milestone moment came amid questions about his difficult debut season at Anfield following a serious ankle injury. According to Bbc.com.
Isak breaks home goal drought as Liverpool look to injury-hit striker’s future
The £125m British record signing opened the scoring with a shot that looped over goalkeeper Dean Henderson, sparking celebrations from The Kop at 3.35pm. Manager Arne Slot reflected on the significance of the moment, asking whether anyone would have predicted eight or nine months ago that Isak would score his first Liverpool league goal at Anfield in late April.
Slot acknowledged the impact of injuries on Isak’s season, describing him as “an unbelievable striker” who has endured “such a long time with injuries.” The goal marked Isak’s first of 2026 and represented the first time Liverpool won a home league game he started. “It’s really nice that he has scored because when we signed him we knew he could score goals,” Slot added.
The striker’s struggles contrast sharply with his previous form at Newcastle United, where he scored 26 goals on the corresponding weekend last season. He finished that campaign with 27 goals and joined Liverpool three months later, declaring his ambition to “create history” and “win trophies” at what he called “the perfect place for me to grow even further.”
Isak suffered a serious ankle injury in December that included a fractured fibula, and he remains a shadow of his former self four months later. Against Palace, he managed just 18 touches and one attempt before being substituted in the 79th minute, having still not completed a full 90 minutes in a Liverpool shirt.
Former England defender Martin Keown suggested the goal provides something for Isak to build on, noting it has been “a long time coming for someone who cost a British record transfer fee.” With Mohamed Salah leaving in the summer and Hugo Ekitike likely to miss the rest of the calendar year, Keown emphasized that Liverpool “are going to need him back to his best.”
