Alexander Isak needed three attempts at the Vitality Stadium. The first was a wayward first-half effort. The second was a cross in the second half that sailed over the bar, to the considerable amusement of the home end. The third was the one that mattered, taken well, and it won Liverpool the game on Andoni Iraola's return to Bournemouth.
The travelling support were still singing "Isak's a Red" long after the whistle. But the more interesting story of Liverpool's afternoon was happening at the other end of the pitch.
Three clean sheets in a row, first time since 2024
Liverpool have now kept three consecutive Premier League clean sheets for the first time since September 2024, and they did not concede more than 0.76 expected goals in any of the three. For a team whose front three cost more than £100m each, the thing making them hard to beat right now is the back line.
"The more times they play together, the more solid the defensive line becomes," Iraola said. "Virgil van Dijk, Jeremy Jacquet, Ronald Araujo and Milos Kerkez, they're getting the connections and becoming more solid." Alisson had a hand in it too, with a strong first-half save to deny Evanilson.
Jacquet is the find of the season so far
Jeremy Jacquet cost £60m from Rennes in the summer and has started every league game since. He is 21. Over the international break he is expected to make his France debut after being called up by Zinedine Zidane.
"I think he has showed a lot of good things so far this season. Still so young, a lot to learn and a lot to give," said Van Dijk. Iraola was similarly pleased and honest about the adjustment period. "The first games, he was physically feeling the change of rhythm and I had to substitute him. Today has been a step forward. He looked solid until the end."
Best Liverpool start since Joe Fagan
Iraola is the first Liverpool manager since Joe Fagan in September 1983 to go unbeaten through his first five league games, with two wins and three draws. Add in wins at Anfield in the Champions League and the Carabao Cup and he has nine points from a possible 15 in the league and a squad that is still learning what he wants.
He kept his word about the emotional side of the return, saying beforehand that the talking could wait until after the match. Once it was over he stayed behind to chat about San Sebastian with local journalists who had travelled there with Bournemouth for their Europa League debut earlier in the week.
The attack is the unfinished part. Cody Gakpo was good again, Florian Wirtz struggled before improving after the break, and Bradley Barcola is still waiting for a first goal or assist in a Liverpool shirt. Iraola knows the schedule is about to test all of it. "We play against the top four teams and then in between there is Champions League and Chelsea in the Carabao Cup, every two or three days. So we have to be ready because this month after the break is very demanding for us."
Match facts: Bournemouth 0-1 Liverpool, Vitality Stadium, Sunday 20 September 2026. Alexander Isak, his fourth goal of the season. Liverpool's third consecutive Premier League clean sheet, their first such run since September 2024. Andoni Iraola, 44, is the first Liverpool manager since Joe Fagan in 1983 to go unbeaten in his first five league games. Liverpool have nine points from 15 and remain unbeaten in all competitions.
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