Alexander Isak's display vs Crystal Palace offers hope of brighter Liverpool future

After a frustrating first campaign at Anfield, Alexander Isak enjoyed one of his bets outings in a Liverpool shirt so far on Saturday, which should offer Arne Slot huge encouragement

Alexander Isak showed signs of improvement in the win over Crystal Palace

Two hundred and thirty-six days. No-one could have ever envisaged it would take so long.

When Liverpool parted with £125million ($169M) to sign Alexander Isak, most presumed an insatiable flow of goals would soon follow. That it took the best part of seven months for the striker to net his first Premier League goal at Anfield perfectly encapsulates the issues of Isak’s first-year struggles at Liverpool.

Given his injury-plagued, stop-start spell on Merseyside, some fans may feel pleased to have even witnessed one home goal from the Premier League’s most expensive-ever signing. It’s fair to say he has not quite yet managed to repay the lavish fee that Liverpool parted with to secure his services last summer.

Then again, would the Reds be sitting so comfortably in the Champions League places if it weren’t for his vital goals against West Ham, Tottenham and Crystal Palace?

At the very least, it’s a start for a player determined to justify his price tag. And after five games back and three starts under his belt, there are some positive signs.

Against Palace, his movement off the ball was more incisive, and he was unfortunate not to fully latch onto a defense-splitting Cody Gakpo pass during the early stages of the second half. Isak also won 50 percent of his duels - higher figures than attacking team-mates Florian Wirtz and Mohamed Salah - and a flick-on won ahead of Chris Richards was notable.

Would he have been able to fend off the towering defender and win the header just a few weeks ago?

Isak netted midway through the first half at Anfield

Yet it was his 35th-minute strike that will please him most. Nearly a year to the day since his last home Premier League goal for Newcastle, the Swede perfectly cushioned Alexis Mac Allister’s wayward shot and, while turning, bounced an effort perfectly up and over Dean Henderson in the away goal.

If the finish was a tad fortuitous, he’s owed a lucky break.

“When we signed him we knew he could score goals and that’s what he showed today,” said Arne Slot after the 3-1 victory over Palace. Many times this season we had better chances than we had today. That is why it is important to have players who can score goals like this because it can give you a big lift in a game.”

The goal stirred Liverpool into action. The Reds had been sloppy in the first half an hour against Palace, and murmurs of frustration were becoming increasingly audible around the ground.

Isak and Robertson were on target in the win over Crystal Palace

But before long, it was 2-0, as Andy Robertson, perhaps an even more popular scorer than Isak, struck powerfully into the bottom corner from a slick breakaway. Now, there’s a man who has more than repaid his £8M ($11M) transfer fee.

It will take a lot more for Isak to justify his astronomical fee. To get there, he’ll undoubtedly need to be more involved than has typically been the case since his return from injury. Just 18 touches in 79 minutes may seem alarmingly low, yet it represents a vast improvement on recent weeks.

Clearly, he and his Liverpool team-mates are still building that on-field relationship, but starting a third consecutive game alongside Wirtz offers encouragement for next season, when much more will be demanded of the club’s two record signings.

“I think it is important that we feed him [Isak] with balls,” the German acknowledged post-match, speaking to LFCTV.

Wirtz also looked more accomplished against Palace(Image: (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images))

“If he is just there up top alone, then it is hard for him to score goals. I think he needs the balls to score them and, as you saw today, if he gets a chance, he normally scores.”

For his part, this was much more like the Wirtz that Liverpool and Slot want to see. A constant nuisance, the 22-year-old floated across the pitch, picking out gaps in the Palace rearguard.

It was his pass that launched the breakaway for Liverpool’s second goal, before he grabbed a first league strike in nearly three months in the final stages. The nine touches he managed in the opposition box - more than anyone else on the pitch - is a sign of his influence in the final third.

More of that is needed if Liverpool is to challenge at the summit again next season, but as a turbulent season nears a calmer conclusion, Slot should feel reassured that two of his star men have shown signs of progression at the end of difficult first seasons.