Iraola explains why Isak did not take Liverpool’s late penalty at Newcastle

Andoni Iraola has explained why Alexander Isak did not take Liverpool’s stoppage-time penalty in their 2-2 draw with Newcastle United, revealing that the Reds have several trusted spot-kick specialists. According to Liverpool.com, Dominik Szoboszlai took responsibility for the decisive penalty and calmly converted it to rescue a point for Liverpool at St James’ Park.

Iraola said Isak, Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo are among the team’s other capable penalty-takers, but praised Szoboszlai for showing his quality under pressure. The Liverpool boss also defended Isak’s performance, saying the striker handled the hostile reception well and continued working for the team despite struggling to find clear scoring opportunities.