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Alexander Isak has expressed his deep gratitude to Liverpool fans following his debut for the club.
The forward made a record-breaking £125 million ($170.3 million) switch from Newcastle on transfer deadline day, concluding a protracted summer saga. The Swedish star had effectively staged a strike at St. James' Park in an attempt to secure a move, missing the Magpies' preseason tour of the Far East and continuing to train solo after his teammates returned to Tyneside.
His long-awaited move to Anfield was finally granted on deadline day, and he made his first appearance since the end of last season with an 18-minute substitute stint against Kosovo for Sweden during the international break.
Liverpool is cautiously managing the striker after a disrupted preseason, with Arne Slot deciding to exclude Isak from his matchday squad for the recent trip to Burnley.
This decision was made with the upcoming clash against Atletico Madrid in mind, with Slot also revealing that he expected Isak to be fit enough to play at least 45 minutes against the La Liga side.
As expected, the 25-year-old was chosen to start against the Spanish team and put in an encouraging performance during his 58-minute debut.
He was also met with a thunderous reception from the fans when his name was announced before kick-off and when he was substituted just before the hour mark.
Taking to Instagram following the match, Isak expressed gratitude to the Liverpool supporters whilst sharing his joy at finally making his long-awaited bow for the Reds. "Amazing night to make my debut," he posted. "Thank you for the warm welcome reds! YNWA".
Slot had previously confessed his astonishment at Isak's fitness levels during his maiden appearance, despite an interrupted summer preparation.
"I was positively surprised by how fit he was during that 60 minutes," he said in his post-match press conference.
"But that maybe, probably, tells you that it might be a difference to sign a 20-year-old from a different league or a 25 or 26-year-old that is used to playing in this league.
"Although he only trained for two weeks, he has so many games under his belt that he is probably more able to be ready for 60. But I was positively surprised how fit he was; I wasn't surprised by his quality because that's what we all know.
"You don't have to be a manager to recognise how much quality he has. But it's always nice to see if a player starts the way he starts, like Hugo Ekitike started the same as he did.
"Yeah, a good start, only 60 minutes and now we have to build him up from here. But I can tell you he is not going to play 90 again on Saturday."
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