Newcastle United vs Liverpool: Isak's Frustrating Return

Alexander Isak’s return to St. James’ Park was supposed to crackle. Instead, it fizzled into frustration as Liverpool escaped with a scarcely merited 2-2 draw on the opening weekend of the Premier League season.

The Newcastle United crowd had him in their sights from the warm-up. Chants rained down on the former hero, the mood hostile, edgy, loud. Isak tried to play the villain, but the script never quite came together.

Liverpool cut open, then claw back

Liverpool were a mess early on. Newcastle sliced through them for the opener, Anthony Elanga finishing off a move that exposed the visitors’ soft centre. One pass, one run, and the back line simply opened up.

Andoni Iraola’s first competitive look at his new team did not make for comfortable viewing. The midfield offered little protection, the full-backs looked vulnerable, and every Newcastle attack seemed to carry a threat.

Yet Liverpool found a way back. After the interval, Cody Gakpo dragged them level, turning in the equalizer that felt, briefly, like a turning point rather than a stay of execution.

It wasn’t. Almost immediately, Newcastle struck again.

A slick counterattack ripped Liverpool apart, substitute Joe Willock timing his run and finish perfectly to restore the lead. The move was sharp, ruthless, and it underlined just how fragile Liverpool remained whenever the game opened up.

With more than half an hour left, Liverpool chased, but rarely convinced. Attacks broke down, crosses went astray, and the final ball lacked any kind of authority.

Isak fumes as chances slip away

As Liverpool laboured, Newcastle had chances to kill it. Isak had some of the best of them — and wasted them.

Just after the 70-minute mark, he peeled into a dangerous pocket, ready for the decisive pass. Milos Kerkez surged forward down the left, looked up, and then overhit a cross that never gave his striker a chance. The ball flew beyond him. So did Isak’s patience.

“Milos!” he shouted, anger cutting through the noise, before burying his head in his hands. The crowd loved the drama. He didn’t.

He had already contributed to his own irritation. Minutes earlier, he had lashed a presentable chance over the bar. Later, inside the final 10 minutes, he mistimed a header and watched another opportunity drift away. No goal, no redemption, only growing exasperation.

For a player under the microscope against his former club, it was a brutal afternoon. The work rate was there, the movement too, but the finishing deserted him when Newcastle needed it most.

Munoz makes his mark, Szoboszlai delivers

Liverpool, clinging on, needed someone to change the story. It came from a new face.

Victor Munoz, a summer signing, entered from the bench in place of Rio Ngumoha and immediately brought urgency to Liverpool’s right flank. He ran at defenders, forced Newcastle back a few yards, and refused to let the game drift.

Deep into stoppage time, his persistence paid off. Driving into the box, Munoz drew a clumsy challenge from Lewis Hall. Down he went. Penalty.

Isak watched on, still on the pitch but not the chosen man. One of Liverpool’s newly appointed vice-captains, Dominik Szoboszlai, took the responsibility.

He didn’t flinch.

Szoboszlai stepped up and whipped the ball into the top corner, a ruthless strike that silenced St. James’ Park and salvaged a point Liverpool had done little to earn. On the touchline, Iraola could finally exhale. So could every Liverpool supporter.

Big questions for Iraola and the board

The late escape did nothing to disguise the problems. If anything, it highlighted them.

Liverpool’s issues in the final third were obvious — too many attacks ended without a shot, too many promising moves faded away — but they might not even top Iraola’s list of concerns. The midfield balance looked off, the full-backs were exposed repeatedly, and the structure without the ball felt fragile.

There are 10 days left in the transfer window, and the squad still carries a glaring, Mohamed Salah-shaped gap. The club has already brought in Ronald Araujo on loan from Barcelona and added Munoz from Osasuna, but the attack remains incomplete.

Paris Saint-Germain duo Bradley Barcola and Ibrahim Mbaye sit high on the list of potential solutions, yet talks with the French champions have stalled. Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh is another name in the frame, though his price and current injury complicate any move.

Then there is the Cody Gakpo question. He scored here, timing his run to grab Liverpool’s first equalizer, but his future remains uncertain. Tottenham have been linked, and the rumours around a possible move refuse to go away.

Iraola now knows exactly how far his team is from where it needs to be. The performance at St. James’ Park stripped away the pre-season gloss. Will the club act quickly enough — and boldly enough — to close that gap before the window slams shut?