LONDON — Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola said Tuesday that striker Alexander Isak “feels the trust of everyone” after rediscovering his goalscoring form for the club this season.
The Sweden international has scored six times in seven Premier League games, including three goals in his past three matches.
After a turbulent, injury-hit debut campaign following his acrimonious move from Newcastle, the 27-year-old is finally beginning to repay his £125 million ($166 million) fee.
“I think Alex has one thing, that he feels the trust of everyone,” said Iraola. “Everyone trusts that if we put him in good positions, he is going to score the goals.
“But it’s not just, I always tell Alex, you do the things and I will score — you have to help us so we can give you the chances.
“You have to give us something so we can give you back and I think he understands that necessity, that relationship, and hope we can continue at the same level.”
Iraola was speaking to reporters on the eve of his team’s League Cup fourth-round tie against Chelsea at Anfield.
The former Bournemouth boss, seeking a fifth straight win in all competitions, was asked if he felt any pressure to deliver a trophy in his first season at Anfield.
“Every competition is an opportunity, especially when you are the coach of Liverpool. You have to take it like this,” he said according to AFP.
“I would love to win tomorrow and have the chance to go further in the competition, but I know that we will have to play well and beat a very good team.”
The Spaniard said he had to “earn the right to be loved” at Liverpool after replacing Arne Slot, who was sacked after two seasons in charge.
“You only get it with good performances, with wins,” said Iraola. “And this will take time. But I’m glad because I felt the other day (a 2-0 win against Brighton on Sunday) that the supporters helped us a lot.
“They were enjoying it the same way as we were and I think the players had a very likeable performance. They gave everything, we were blocking everything, we were tackling, we were fighting, we were winning duels, we were making the runs in behind.
“Those are the things that we want to see, everyone wants to see.”
Iraola said he was optimistic Germany international Florian Wirtz could be involved against Chelsea but Victor Munoz and Dominik Szoboszlai were less likely to feature.
“There will definitely be changes,” he said. “But we want to win the game, we want to be competitive. We need to see how the legs are.”
