Isak finally living up to price tag as Liverpool patience rewarded

For Iraola, this was a fourth win in a row since the loss to Manchester City at Anfield a fortnight ago.

The fans who braved the conditions after Storm Boelo were treated to a display where Liverpool were aggressive from the outset and defended really well to keep a Brighton side that scored 15 league goals in their previous four games at bay.

Bar an early chance for Yasin Ayari, which the Swede blazed over, Fabian Hurzeler's side didn't have any major chances of note.

Ronald Araujo was again immense and the Liverpool backline kept their fourth clean sheet in eight league games this season.

Interestingly, Liverpool's possession of 35.6% was their second lowest on record (since 2003-04) in a Premier League home win.

Iraola's Bournemouth side certainly preferred to have less of the ball and this was a reminder that, with the quality at his disposal going forward, Liverpool are perhaps fine with teams coming to Anfield and having more of the ball, especially if it means the opposition aren't set up in a low block.

Both Florian Wirtz and Barcola were excellent and Cody Gakpo threatened all afternoon too, with Wirtz unlucky not to be credited for the goal when his strike took a deflection off Pascal Gross and gave Liverpool the lead.

Slowly but surely, his confidence is increasing in a Liverpool shirt and it is clear to see the impact he has on a game.

The German just needs the numbers to improve on his end and Liverpool will hope that he isn’t set for a spell on the sidelines after he was substituted in the second half.

"Unfortunately, he had to leave the pitch with a small twist of the ankle," said Iraola.

"It doesn't look very big but we are playing every three days so we need to see where he is."

As for Barcola, there is a style to his play that can energise a crowd and the way he won possession for Isak's goal felt like it ticked off exactly what Iraola wanted with the high press and sheer desire to win the ball back.

That left Isak to finish instinctively and Barcola imitated Isak's celebration, just like they did last weekend in west London, as Liverpool moved up to fourth.

Theirs is a combination that cost the Reds a total of £248m but if they can keep on combining and winning games, that will do just fine for Iraola and Liverpool.