Alexander Isak has a message for Liverpool fans in India
Being a Liverpool supporter in India often means sacrificing a little sleep.
Premier League kick-off times can push matches late into the night, particularly when European fixtures are added to the schedule. Yet thousands of supporters continue to plan their evenings — and sometimes their early mornings — around Liverpool.
Alexander Isak knows that commitment exists.
Speaking during an interview facilitated by JioStar/JioHotstar, the Liverpool striker was asked about supporters in India who stay awake to follow the club despite the inconvenient timings.
“Of course, we appreciate all support from overseas where we understand that the times are not always very suitable,” Isak said. “Hopefully we can do well and have a good season, which makes staying up late more worth it.”
It was a short answer, but one likely to connect with Liverpool supporters in India. Following a club based thousands of kilometres away is very different from walking into Anfield on a Saturday afternoon, yet the emotional investment can be just as strong.
For Isak, the message also comes at an important stage of his own Liverpool career. After injuries interrupted his first season at the club, the Swedish forward is trying to put together the kind of consistent run that was difficult to find last year.
Liverpool's supporters have already left an impression on Isak
When asked what had stood out to him about Liverpool since joining the club, Isak did not immediately point towards trophies, history or even his teammates.
He spoke about the supporters.
“The fans, their passion and dedication to the club is incredible,” he said during the interview.
That is not the first time Isak has spoken positively about Liverpool's fanbase. In a recent interview with Liverpool's official website, he said the backing from supporters “means a lot” and described the relationship between the players, the club and its fans as “something valuable.”
He also acknowledged that supporters had continued backing the team during difficult periods.
For Isak personally, that support mattered during a frustrating first campaign at Anfield.
His season was badly disrupted in December 2025 when he suffered an ankle injury, including a fractured fibula, while scoring against Tottenham Hotspur. According to Liverpool, he finished the campaign with only 13 starts.
That made it difficult for him to build momentum or fully settle into a new attacking system.
This season has started differently.
Liverpool reported on September 11 that Isak had started each of the club's opening four matches of the 2026-27 campaign. He had played 332 minutes and scored three goals, including both goals in a 2-0 Premier League victory away at Ipswich Town.
For a striker coming off an injury-hit season, those minutes may be nearly as important as the goals. Staying on the pitch gives him the chance to develop combinations with teammates and find the rhythm that was repeatedly interrupted last season.
Isak arrived at Liverpool with big expectations
Isak's move to Liverpool in September 2025 was one of the headline transfers of the summer.
Liverpool completed his signing from Newcastle United on September 1 and handed him the No.9 shirt along with a long-term contract. The Premier League described the transfer as a British-record deal.
The expectations were understandable.
Isak had already established himself as one of the Premier League's most dangerous forwards during his time at Newcastle.
Liverpool's own figures show that he scored 54 goals in 86 Premier League appearances for Newcastle. In the 2024-25 season alone, he scored 23 league goals and finished behind only Mohamed Salah in the Golden Boot race.
His route to Anfield was not straightforward either.
Isak began his senior career with AIK in Sweden before moving to Borussia Dortmund. He later spent time on loan with Willem II in the Netherlands and built his reputation further at Real Sociedad in Spain. Newcastle then brought him to the Premier League in 2022.
Playing in several European leagues has given Isak experience of very different styles of football.
During his recent interview, he spoke about those differences, describing English football as more physical and played at a higher tempo, while Spanish football tends to be more controlled and technical.
That experience has helped shape him into more than a penalty-box striker.
At Liverpool, scoring remains his main responsibility, but the centre-forward is also expected to link with teammates, make runs that open space, press defenders and help the team during quick transitions.
Those parts of his game become easier to develop when he is playing regularly.
Why Isak's message matters in India
Isak's comments also highlight how significant India has become to the Premier League.
In May 2026, the Premier League said it had more than 144.5 million followers in India. The league had already opened an office in Mumbai in April 2025 as part of a broader effort to develop its presence in the country through fan engagement, partnerships and football-development programmes.
Liverpool, meanwhile, has built its own organised supporter network across India.
The club's official directory lists supporter groups in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Goa, Hyderabad, Kerala, Pune, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kolhapur, Nagaland and Mizoram.
Those groups show how deeply Premier League clubs have become part of football culture in India.
Mumbai is one example.
Liverpool profiled its Mumbai Official Supporters Club in 2025 and traced its beginnings back to 2008, when roughly 20 fans got together for a kickabout. The group became an official Liverpool supporters club in 2013 and went on to organise match screenings and community activities.
The numbers can become significant when Liverpool play their biggest games.
For the 2019 Champions League final, the Mumbai group said more than 1,300 Liverpool supporters gathered at a single venue to watch the match.
There is also a distinctly Indian flavour to the way the club is supported. The Mumbai branch has developed Liverpool chants inspired by Bollywood melodies, blending traditions associated with Anfield with local football culture.
That gives Isak's comments about late-night viewers more context.
He is not simply addressing a distant group of overseas followers. Liverpool already has organised communities in India that gather regularly to watch matches, celebrate victories and share the frustrations that come with supporting a football club.
What Isak said about Virgil van Dijk
Isak also offered an interesting insight into Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk during the interview.
“What’s most impressive is how calm he is, both on the ball and off the ball when he’s defending,” Isak said.
He added that Van Dijk's composure has an effect on the rest of the team.
That quality can be particularly useful for players still adjusting to life at Liverpool.
Isak arrived at Anfield with years of Premier League experience, but joining Liverpool still required adapting to different teammates, different attacking patterns and different expectations.
His injury problems made that adjustment more difficult.
The opening weeks of the 2026-27 season therefore feel like a fresh opportunity. He has been able to start matches regularly, build fitness and spend more time playing alongside the teammates Liverpool expect him to combine with over the long term.
The bigger question for Isak this season
For Liverpool fans in India, Isak's message is a welcome acknowledgement of the effort required to follow the club from another time zone.
On the pitch, though, the bigger story will be whether he can stay available and turn his strong start into a consistent season.
There has never been much doubt about his ability to score Premier League goals. His record at Newcastle already showed that.
The challenge at Liverpool is slightly different.
He needs to bring that finishing ability into a team with its own attacking structure while developing reliable combinations with the players around him. That process becomes much harder when injuries repeatedly interrupt playing time.
Three goals in his opening four starts is a positive beginning, but four matches are nowhere near enough to judge how the entire season will unfold.
What can be said with certainty is that Isak has started this campaign with more continuity than he enjoyed during much of his first year at Liverpool.
If he can maintain that rhythm, supporters in India could have plenty of reasons to keep setting those late-night alarms.
And judging by Isak's message, the players know they are watching.
