Isak Strikes Again as Liverpool Beat Brentford for Third Straight Away Win

Alexander Isak has done it again. For the third consecutive Premier League away game, the Swedish striker scored the winning goal for Liverpool, this time sinking Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium to keep his side's perfect record on the road intact this season.

All three of Liverpool's wins in the Premier League this season have come away from Anfield, and all three have been secured by Isak winners — a habit that is fast making the £125 million man worth his fee after a turbulent first campaign on Merseyside.

A difficult afternoon that turned on a moment of madness

Saturday had all the makings of a tough trip for Andoni Iraola's side. Facing an unbeaten Brentford three days after a European away game, and arriving off the back of a 3-0 home defeat to Manchester City the previous weekend at Anfield, Liverpool knew Keith Andrews' men would be a stern test — particularly after the Bees had beaten Chelsea 3-0 in their previous home game.

The first half did nothing to calm those fears. Bradley Barcola missed a glorious one-on-one chance to put Liverpool ahead, Dominik Szoboszlai was lost to injury, and a penalty award was overturned after a VAR review. Moments later, Keane Lewis-Potter headed Brentford in front. Everything was going wrong.

Then came the turning point. Yehor Yarmoliuk headbutted Jérémy Jacquet while jostling ahead of a corner and was shown a red card just before half-time, leaving the hosts down to 10 men and swinging the contest decisively.

Wirtz, Muñoz and Isak flip the script

Liverpool took full advantage after the break. First, Florian Wirtz fed Víctor Muñoz, who raced down the right, chopped inside and finished well to equalise. Eight minutes later, Isak — quiet until that point — controlled Barcola's header back to him and finished to score what proved to be the winner.

It was a familiar pattern for the striker, who has made a habit of contributing little until the most important moment of the game. His first goal of the season was an equaliser against Nottingham Forest on Matchday 2 at Anfield, and he hit a quickfire brace early at Ipswich Town in what turned out to be the only two goals of that victory. He then scored the only goal of the win at Bournemouth before the international break, and after missing the home defeat to Manchester City through injury, he returned to the starting line-up at Brentford to justify his recall with another winner.

From four goals in 22 games to five in eight

There was plenty of scrutiny around Isak after his 2025 summer move — the manner of his departure from Newcastle United, the money involved, and an underwhelming first season. A lack of pre-season, generally poor performances from Liverpool under Arne Slot and bad luck with injuries limited him to just four goals in 22 games last term.

This season tells a different story. We are only in mid-October and Isak already has five goals in just eight games. He has racked up a personal expected goals total (xG) of 4.1 in those eight games, just shy of the 4.2 he managed in 22 outings last season, while his xG per shot has risen to 0.21 from 0.15 — meaning he is shooting from much better positions on average.

Firmino territory and a perfect record against the Bees

More important than the numbers is Isak's ability to decide tight matches, especially tricky away fixtures. As Opta's Michael Reid pointed out on X, Isak became just the second Liverpool player in the 21st century to score the winning goal in three consecutive Premier League away games, after Roberto Firmino (December 2019 to January 2020).

He also maintains a perfect record against Brentford, having scored in all five of his Premier League appearances against the Bees (five goals, four of them for Newcastle). Only Erling Haaland versus Crystal Palace (six) has a better 100% scoring rate in the competition.

A different role: from creator to clinical number nine

Isak perhaps carried a reputation at Newcastle for being more involved in build-up play — arguably a more all-round forward. He averaged 1.1 open-play chances created per 90 minutes on Tyneside, a figure that has halved to 0.56 at Liverpool. Playing as more of a traditional number nine arguably suits the Reds right now as they adjust to the demands of Iraola's football, and having someone who stays around the danger area to win tight games is invaluable.

Despite scoring against Forest, Isak was criticised for having just 14 touches in that game. In the next home league match, a 0-0 draw with Fulham, he managed only 15 touches and just three in the opposition's penalty area. Away from home, though, he has seen far more of the ball, with his three highest-touch games in all competitions this season coming against Newcastle (28), Ipswich (29) and Bournemouth (34).

In 109 games for Newcastle he averaged 34.6 touches per 90 and 6.0 touches in the opposition box; at Liverpool those numbers have dropped to 25.0 and 5.0, though his touches in the box have climbed to 6.1 this season. At Brentford he managed only 16 touches, but with the hosts down to 10 men for half the game, seven of those came in the opposition's box — the most he has managed in any Premier League game for Liverpool.

Feeding off scraps, but still the main man

What matters is what Isak does when he gets the ball in those areas. In the Premier League he has taken 17 shots, with eight on target, both the most of any Liverpool player, and boasts a conversion rate of 29.4%. Only João Pedro (31.3%) and Haaland (29.6%) have better rates among players to have attempted at least 10 shots this season.

If anything, Isak could do with more help. Victor Muñoz (two) is the only other Liverpool player to have scored more than once in the Premier League this season, and the team has created just 10 big chances — the joint-lowest total along with Coventry City.

Strikers thrive on confidence, and Isak will now be eyeing his first Champions League goal for Liverpool when they host Villarreal on Tuesday. He may still not be fully up and running in a Reds shirt, but the club paid so much money for him to win games with his goals — and at the moment, he is doing exactly that.