Overview

• Isak started his Liverpool bow in the Champions League, played 58 minutes of a 3-2 win over Atletico Madrid, and linked well with Florian Wirtz despite not scoring.
• Arne Slot said he was positively surprised by Isak’s fitness during his roughly hour-long outing and signaled a gradual build-up of minutes.
• Dominik Szoboszlai lauded Isak’s quality but said the forward needs to get used to more running and off-ball work in Liverpool’s setup.
• Hugo Ekitike was benched for the first time, came on in the 58th minute and missed two big chances, as Julien Laurens argued it was always going to be Isak over Ekitike when fit.
• A Liverpool insider reported Isak hit every shot in his warm-up drill before kickoff, reinforcing internal views that he looks sharper than expected.