For the net

On September 4th, Liverpool went to Portman Road and did something they hadn’t managed in their first two Premier League games of the season: Win a football match without making their supporters age five years.

The Reds beat Ipswich Town 2-0, with Alexander Isak scoring twice in the opening nine minutes.

Yes, nine minutes.

Maybe he had dinner reservations?

“Let’s just get this over with” – Alexander Isak, probably

Liverpool didn’t exactly ease themselves into the match.

They didn’t spend 20 minutes passing the ball sideways. They didn’t slowly build confidence. They didn’t politely knock on Ipswich’s door.

They kicked it down.

In the sixth minute, Cody Gakpo found Isak, who took one touch before absolutely hammering the ball past Ipswich goalkeeper Kjell Scherpen.

1-0 Liverpool.

Three minutes later, Gakpo decided one assist wasn’t enough and produced another excellent delivery.

Isak received it, danced around the Ipswich defence and calmly rolled the ball into the net.

2-0.

At this point, Ipswich supporters were probably wondering whether the stadium had accidentally hosted the first nine minutes of a Liverpool training session.

Gakpo already had two assists.

Isak already had two goals.

And Liverpool already had two goals.

Everyone else just had questions.

Cody Gakpo: Playing football with cheat codes

Gakpo deserves enormous credit for both goals.

The Dutchman was involved in practically everything dangerous Liverpool produced early on, and his chemistry with Isak was one of the biggest positives from the evening.

For Isak, it was the perfect start to life under new manager Andoni Iraola.

The Swedish striker had already scored against Nottingham Forest in Liverpool’s previous match, but this was his first-ever Liverpool brace.

Three goals in three league games.

Not bad for a man who apparently decided that September was the appropriate time to become terrifying.

Liverpool actually defended too

Perhaps the most surprising part of the night wasn’t the two early goals.

It was the clean sheet.

Liverpool had conceded four goals in each of their opening two league matches, drawing 2-2 with Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest.

So when Ipswich started trying to get back into the game, Liverpool’s defence had a simple message:

“Absolutely not.”

Ipswich improved considerably after their nightmare opening, but Liverpool largely kept them at arm’s length.

Alisson made the required saves, while the defence handled most of Ipswich’s late pressure.

For Liverpool supporters, the final whistle must have felt like discovering your phone is still at 80% battery after a full day.

Barcola makes his debut

There was also time for new signing Bradley Barcola to make his Liverpool debut in the second half.

The £107 million signing came on in the 64th minute, giving Liverpool fans their first competitive glimpse of another major addition to their increasingly expensive collection of footballers.

He didn’t score.

He didn’t assist.

But he also didn’t immediately cause Liverpool’s transfer department to start sweating.

We’ll call that a successful debut.

Iraola finally gets his first win

For new Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola, this was a particularly important evening.

After two consecutive 2-2 draws, Liverpool desperately needed a victory.

They ended up getting one.

And they did it without conceding.

Iraola can now officially celebrate his first Premier League victory as Liverpool boss, while Liverpool move on to five points from their first three matches.

It’s early, of course.

Incredibly early.

But after a couple of frustrating draws, we highly doubt Liverpool fans will care.

Two goals from Isak are two goals from Isak.

And three points are also three points, right?

Final thoughts

Liverpool didn’t need to be perfect for 90 minutes.

They just needed to be spectacular for about nine.

Isak’s lightning-fast double put the game to bed before most people had finished their snacks, while Gakpo’s two assists showed exactly why he remains such an important part of Liverpool’s attack.

Ipswich also deserve credit for recovering from their disastrous start and making Liverpool work for the clean sheet.

But by then, the damage had already been done.

It couldn’t have been fun to spend 80 minutes wondering what on earth happened during the initial nine minutes of the game, but hopefully Ipswich doesn’t have to do so again.

And Liverpool fans?

They can finally go to bed without spending the evening asking themselves, “How did we draw that?”