Gakpo and Isak recreate rare Premier League sequence last seen in 1998

Liverpool made a flying start to the third round of the Premier League, securing a swift away victory over Ipswich Town after Alexander Isak scored twice inside the opening nine minutes. On both occasions, the Sweden international was set up by Cody Gakpo.

The sequence created a notable piece of Premier League history. It was the first time since 1998 that one player had provided two assists for a team-mate so early in a match in the English top flight.

Gakpo supplied the final pass for both of Isak’s goals, giving Liverpool a two-goal advantage before the contest had reached the 10-minute mark. The two-part combination between the Netherlands international and Isak matched an achievement that had not been seen in the competition for more than two decades.

The previous example came in April 1998, when Leicester players Steve Guppy and Emile Heskey produced the same pattern against Derby County. Guppy assisted Heskey twice, while Heskey scored both goals.

Leicester went on to win that away match 4-0, making the earlier Premier League instance part of a convincing victory on the road. Liverpool also secured a quick away success after Isak’s early double, although the significant statistical landmark came from the timing and repetition of the Gakpo-Isak combination.

The opening stages at Ipswich therefore linked the current Premier League campaign with an unusual piece of competition history. Isak was the scorer on each occasion, while Gakpo was the provider, precisely mirroring the roles occupied by Heskey and Guppy for Leicester in 1998.

For Liverpool, the immediate impact was a rapid lead and an away win at the beginning of the third round. For the Premier League record books, the match was notable because two assists from the same player for the same team-mate had again arrived within the opening nine minutes something that had not occurred since Guppy and Heskey achieved it against Derby County.

The comparison also underlines how uncommon the feat is. Although attacking players regularly combine for goals and assists during Premier League matches, the same player setting up two goals for one team-mate in such a short period had not been recorded for 27 years before Gakpo and Isak repeated the sequence.

Their opening exchanges at Ipswich consequently became the defining detail of Liverpool’s fast start, while also ending the long wait since Leicester’s 1998 example.