Isak returns, home team suffers defeat

English football's record signing Alexander Isak - Liverpool's £125m signing - made his first appearance since May, but his return was disappointing.

Isak received a yellow card after colliding with Aliti.

In the away match at Pristina Stadium of Kosovo in the early morning of September 9, Isak was sent on by coach Jon Dahl Tomasson in the 72nd minute to replace Anthony Elanga, in the context that Sweden was leading 0-2. However, the striker who had just left Newcastle almost made no difference. He only had time to leave his mark with a yellow card after a collision with Fidan Aliti and three shots, of which two were on target but could not beat the Kosovo goalkeeper.

Kosovo sealed the game early with first-half goals from Elvis Rexhbecaj and Vedat Muriqi. Even though Lindon Emerllahu was sent off in stoppage time, the Balkan side held on for their first win in Group B.

With only 1 point after two matches, Sweden fell to third place, while Switzerland took the top spot with 6 points. In the 2026 World Cup qualifying round in Europe, only the top team can get a direct ticket to the finals, so this defeat makes the chances of Isak and his teammates even more uncertain.

After the draw with Slovenia earlier, coach Tomasson explained why Isak had to sit on the bench: the 25-year-old star had only had three training sessions with the team, and had not participated in any matches during the pre-season with Newcastle. It was the lack of rhythm that prevented Liverpool's "blockbuster" from regaining form, on a day when Sweden really needed him to turn things around.

Source: https://znews.vn/isak-tro-lai-doi-nha-tham-bai-post1583664.html