Isak Ends Liverpool Drought as Iraola Returns to Bournemouth

Andoni Iraola returned to the Vitality Stadium on Sunday as Liverpool head coach, facing Bournemouth in a Premier League fixture against the club he guided into European competition just a season prior. His return was the first time a Liverpool manager had faced one of his former Premier League clubs since March 2015, when Brendan Rodgers led Liverpool to a 1-0 victory against Swansea City.

Liverpool managers had remained unbeaten in their previous seven matches against former clubs, recording five wins and two draws, since Kenny Dalglish’s 2-0 defeat to Newcastle United in April 2012. Liverpool also arrived with back-to-back clean sheets, matching the one clean sheet they had managed across their previous 13 Premier League games and carrying the chance to record three in a row for the first time since a four-match run between May and September 2024.

The match kicked off at 14:00 BST (09:00 ET / 06:00 PT). In the United Kingdom, Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Ultra broadcast the game live on television, while Sky Go provided live digital streaming and Now TV offered subscription access.

Bournemouth had made one change from the lineup that won at Real Sociedad, with Ryan Christie replacing Justin Kluivert. The Cherries had secured their first-ever European victory on Thursday, beating Real Sociedad 2-1 in San Sebastian in the Europa League. That continental campaign had been secured under Iraola during the second of his two seasons in charge in 2025/26.

Domestic results under new manager Marco Rose had been less successful: Bournemouth began their opening top-flight games with three draws and one defeat. Their only longer winless start to a Premier League season came in 2023/24, when they failed to win any of their first nine matches under Iraola.

Bournemouth XI: Djordje Petrovic, Adam Smith, James Hill, Antonio Silva, Adrien Truffert, Rayan, Tyler Adams, Ryan Christie, Alex Scott, Marcus Tavernier, Evanilson.
Substitutes: Michele Di Gregorio, Lewis Cook, Julio Soler, David Brooks, Ben Gannon-Doak, Bafode Diakite, Juanlu Sanchez, Alex Toth, Daniel Jebbison.

Bournemouth had held a lead in each of their Premier League matches this season before Sunday. Another failure to convert a lead into a victory would have put them alongside Manchester City in January 2004 and Tottenham Hotspur in October 2007 and December 2023 as the only clubs in top-flight history to lead in five consecutive matches without winning any of them.

The club had also recorded 13 draws in 23 Premier League matches during 2026, giving Bournemouth a 56.5% draw ratio, the highest percentage achieved by any team in a single calendar year in English top-flight history. Under Rose, Bournemouth were averaging six shots on target per game, the highest average under any of the five managers who had led the club in the Premier League.

Marcus Tavernier entered the match with four goals in his previous five league appearances, matching the number he had scored across his prior 24 games combined. He had nevertheless lost all five of his career meetings with Liverpool, by a combined score of 22-2.

Liverpool had drawn three of their opening four league games, alongside one win. The club’s last three draws in its first four Premier League matches came in 2005/06, when Liverpool drew their fifth game as well; that remains the only campaign in club history in which they drew four of their opening five league fixtures.

Liverpool XI: Alisson Becker, Ronald Araujo, Virgil van Dijk, Jeremy Jacquet, Milos Kerkez, Bradley Barcola, Alexis Mac Allister, Florian Wirtz, Dominik Szoboszlai, Cody Gakpo, Alexander Isak.
Substitutes: Giorgi Mamardashvili, Joe Gomez, Kostas Tsimikas, Victor Munoz, Jeremie Frimpong, Ryan Gravenberch, Trey Nyoni, Lewis Koumas, Rio Ngumoha.

Liverpool made three changes from the squad that drew 0-0 at home against Fulham eight days earlier. Gakpo, Milos Kerkez and Alexis Mac Allister came into the starting lineup for Ryan Gravenberch, Victor Munoz and Kostas Tsimikas. Defenders Conor Bradley and Giovanni Leoni remained unavailable with knee injuries, while forwards Federico Chiesa and Hugo Ekitike were out with muscle and Achilles injuries respectively.

The historical matchup favored Liverpool, who had won 14 of their 18 Premier League meetings with Bournemouth, alongside three defeats and one draw. Bournemouth’s three victories had all come at home: 4-3 in December 2016, 1-0 in March 2023 and 3-2 in January 2026.

Liverpool had scored in 17 of the 18 Premier League encounters, producing 54 goals at an average of three per game. That was Liverpool’s highest average against any club they had faced at least 10 times in the competition.

Alexander Isak broke the deadlock in the 57th minute with his fourth goal of the season, giving Liverpool a second-half lead. The goal ended Liverpool’s top-flight scoring drought, which had lasted more than 228 minutes. Before Sunday, the Sweden international had also scored Liverpool’s previous Premier League goal, in a 2-0 victory at Ipswich Town on September 4.

Cody Gakpo created the opening on the right wing, working past two defenders before delivering a cross while off-balance. Bournemouth’s new defensive signing Antonio Silva ducked at the near post as the ball came through, prompting teammate Alex Scott to question the decision.

Rob Green, the former England goalkeeper providing analysis on BBC Radio 5 Live, highlighted Gakpo’s work in creating the chance under pressure and noted Silva’s misjudgment at the near post, which left Isak positioned to capitalize in front of the traveling supporters.