Isak extends hot streak as Reds sink Brighton, Utd battering by Bournemouth may seal Carrick’s fate

Alexander Isak extended his hot streak in Liverpool’s 2-0 win against Brighton on Sunday as Reds boss Andoni Iraola savoured his first Premier League victory at Anfield.

Iraola’s side struck twice in quick succession in the first half, with Pascal Gross’s own goal followed by Isak’s latest strike.

Isak has netted six times in seven league games this season and has three goals in his last four matches.

After a turbulent debut season following his acrimonious move from Newcastle, the Sweden striker is finally beginning to repay his £125 million ($167 million) fee.

It was a welcome first taste of top-flight success at Anfield for Iraola, who had failed to win his first three league games on Merseyside since arriving from Bournemouth in the close season.

The Spaniard, who had won Champions League and League Cup games at Anfield, has led Liverpool to four successive victories in all competitions since the chastening 3-0 home defeat against Manchester City.

Liverpool have climbed to fourth place, just one point behind third-placed Brighton after inflicting the high-flying Seagulls’ second league loss this term.

The Reds are six points behind leaders City as they eye a potential title challenge.

Liverpool were winless in their previous five home league matches dating back to last season, drawing four times and losing once.

But they put Brighton to the sword in composed fashion, stopping the visitors’ recent goal blitz after they arrived at Anfield as the league’s top scorers.

Brighton should have taken an early lead when Diego Gomez’s pass caught out Virgil van Dijk and Gross crossed to Yasin Ayari, who fired wastefully over with the goal at his mercy.

Rampant Reds: Liverpool took full advantage of that escape to open the scoring in the 17th minute.

Ronald Araujo’s buccaneering run and cross into the Brighton area picked out Florian Wirtz for a powerful strike that took a hefty deflection off Gross as it whistled into the bottom corner. Cody Gakpo nearly doubled Liverpool’s lead moments later with a rising drive that Bart Verbruggen tipped over.

Liverpool were rampant and it was no surprise when Isak bagged their second goal in the 21st minute.

Iraola opted for Bradley Barcola and Gakpo on the flanks despite Rio Ngumoha’s virtuoso performance in the midweek win against Villarreal.

And Barcola repaid that faith when he sprinted onto a long pass from Reds keeper Alisson Becker and guided a cross into Isak for a clinical close-range finish.

Isak has scored in three consecutive league appearances for the first time since January 2025 for Newcastle.

He was denied a fourth by Lewis Dunk’s last-ditch block after the Sweden striker took aim from Wirtz’s pass.

Liverpool kept pushing and Araujo’s blast forced a superb save from Verbruggen just before half-time.

United slump to another defeat: Manchester United slumped further into crisis with a 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth that plunged Michael Carrick’s future as manager into doubt.

Carrick’s bold decision to drop captain Bruno Fernandes backfired as defeat stretched United’s winless run to eight games and left them 16th in the Premier League, just one point above the relegation zone.

For the third time in four seasons, the Cherries won 3-0 at Old Trafford as goals from Rayan, Marcus Tavernier and Evanilson secured a fully deserved win for Marco Rose’s side.

Fernandes was critical of Carrick’s tactics in a 4-1 thrashing by Champions League debutants Como on Wednesday.

The United boss said the decision to leave out last season’s Premier League player of the year was a ‘purely football’ driven, but it was hard to believe Fernandes was not being punished as he was left on the bench for the entire match.

Carrick was taunted with chants of “you’re getting sacked in the morning” from the Bournemouth fans.

But on this evidence, dismissing another manager is far from a quick fix for a club that has fallen dramatically from grace since Alex Ferguson’s retirement 13 years ago.

Agencies