Andoni Iraola believes Liverpool's high press will be crucial if they are to give Alexander Isak top-level service, admitting after Friday's win over Ipswich Town that he has had "fights" with the striker over his contribution in other areas.  

Isak scored twice in the opening nine minutes as Liverpool earned their first Premier League win of the season at the third attempt, triumphing 2-0 at Portman Road.

The Swede's brace was the earliest by a Reds player in a Premier League game since Maxi Rodriguez in May 2011 versus Fulham, who netted twice in seven minutes.

And, with Cody Gakpo assisting both goals with defence-splitting passes, it was the earliest that a player had assisted two goals for the same player in a Premier League match since April 1998, when Leicester City's Steve Guppy did so for Emile Heskey in eight minutes against Derby County.

Isak has five goals in his two Premier League trips to Portman Road, and since the start of 2024-25, the only player with more at that venue is ex-Ipswich striker Liam Delap (six in 18 appearances).

Iraola appeared to question Isak's off-ball work in his post-match interview with Sky Sports, but he praised the way Liverpool pressed high to feed him in advanced areas.

"He's a massive player for us," Iraola said of Isak. "My demands will not be about goals: he's fit, in good shape and he will produce the numbers. 

"But my fights with him are more about other stuff, how to help the team in other situations. But it's good he has played two full games, and today he had a good amount of minutes, scoring the goals.

"Today we were much, much better in our press. We were recovering the ball very high and then we can connect him in good positions. 

"If we recover the ball lower, it will be more difficult to find him in space. So, we need more quality effort to put our number nine in situations like he had today."

Liverpool won possession in the final third seven times on Friday, compared to Ipswich only doing so twice, and six of those recoveries came in the first half.

The Reds were able to hand Bradley Barcola his debut off the bench in the second half, having completed a £123m deal to acquire him from Paris Saint-Germain on Monday.

Having entered the fray in the 64th minute, Barcola did not attempt a shot and only had one touch in the Ipswich area as Liverpool managed the closing stages professionally. 

And Iraola has warned he will need time to get up to speed upon his return from an extended World Cup break.

"He had good minutes, made one good pass on a counter, he had a good couple of chances when he was going against the goalkeeper and we didn't find him," Iraola said of Barcola.

"We need to learn these movements, because he will be there threatening in behind all the time. But he looks confident on the ball, as always.

"He hadn't played any competitive minutes since the World Cup, so we had to be a little bit more careful."

Barcola's next appearance could come in the Champions League as Liverpool host Atletico Madrid in their opening league-phase match on Wednesday, prior to facing Fulham in their fourth Premier League game.