Isak Has Scored Half of Liverpool's 14 League Goals — and the Latest Came After He Sold a Dummy to USMNT's Chris Richards

Alexander Isak has scored seven of Liverpool's 14 Premier League goals this season. The Sweden striker's latest, the 89th-minute finish that sealed Sunday's 3-1 win at Crystal Palace, came after he sold a dummy to a defender American fans will see in Miami on Saturday: USMNT center back Chris Richards.

The move started with Víctor Muñoz on the right and Florian Wirtz in the box. Wirtz laid the ball off, Isak sat the sliding Richards down with a dummy, cut inside and finished, helped by a slight deflection. It was his first real reward of the afternoon. Earlier he had missed a one-on-one against Dean Henderson.

Isak's goal was Liverpool's third. Alexis Mac Allister headed them in front in the 40th minute and Wirtz added the second in the 54th. Eddie Nketiah's stoppage-time penalty for Palace came after that.

The Liverpool Echo counted only 30 touches for Isak before he was substituted shortly after scoring, easily the fewest of any player who was on the field for a similar amount of time. He doesn't need much of the ball. The Echo also noted that it was only the second of the seven games in which he has scored this season, in all competitions, where his goal was neither an equalizer nor a winner.

His seven league goals have come in nine appearances. He sat out one game, the 3-0 home loss to Manchester City that followed a thigh injury on international duty in October. Only Erling Haaland, two goals ahead, has more in the league.

Sunday was also the fourth straight away league game in which Isak has scored. He is the first Liverpool player to do that since Mohamed Salah, who managed it in February 2025, according to the Liverpool Echo and This Is Anfield.

Seven goals after 10 league games equals his best start in England. He also had seven in 2023-24 at Newcastle, when he went on to score 21 Premier League goals, but that season it took him until the 13th game to get there. He now has eight goals in all competitions, double what he managed in a first Liverpool season hit by injuries, fitness issues and a loss of form.

Jamie Carragher made the comparison on Sky Sports that matters most at Anfield. "When you think about the money Liverpool have spent on their attack with the three players, Barcola, Isak and Wirtz, Isak is the one this season who is really showing why they spent that money," he said.

The worry for Andoni Iraola is the next two weeks. Isak got hurt with Sweden during the last international break and missed two Liverpool games because of it. Sweden now play Nations League matches against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Saturday and in Poland next Tuesday.

Liverpool come out of the break fourth on 18 points, nine behind Arsenal, and their first game back is Manchester United at Anfield on Sunday, Nov. 22. Right now half of Liverpool's league goals depend on one player, so the most important thing Liverpool need from the break is an Isak who comes back fit, and it would definately help if Sweden don't need him for 180 minutes.