Liverpool 2 Albion 0: two early goals end Albion's unbeaten run at Anfield

Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak scored inside 21 minutes as Albion lost 2-0 at Liverpool on Sunday, their first defeat since August. Albion had 64 per cent of the ball but one shot on target.

Tim

Published 21:12, Monday, 26 October 20263 min read

The red seats and pitch inside Anfield, Liverpool’s stadium, seen from the corner of the Anfield Road stand under a cloudy blue sky — Anfield, where Albion lost 2-0 on Sunday afternoon, seen from the Anfield Road end in May 2024

Albion lost 2-0 at Liverpool on Sunday, their first defeat since August, after Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak scored inside the opening 21 minutes at Anfield.

The result ended a nine-match unbeaten run, the club says in its match report. Match data shows Albion had 64 per cent of the ball and 16 shots to Liverpool’s 11, but only one of those shots was on target, against four for Liverpool.

The result at a glance

The Premier League match kicked off at 2pm at Anfield, with the referee Sam Barrott in charge. Here is how the scoring went.

Liverpool 2, Albion 0 at Anfield on Sunday 25 October 2026: Florian Wirtz scored in the 17th minute and Alexander Isak in the 21st — Liverpool 2 Albion 0 at a glance. Sources: Albion match report and match data.

How the 90 minutes went

Albion had to change their plans almost immediately. Ferdi Kadioglu went off with a back injury in the opening minutes, and Costinha replaced him in the sixth minute, the club says.

At 0-0, Yasin Ayari had the best early chance for Albion when he blazed over from 15 yards in the 12th minute, with Alisson Becker well off his line. Liverpool then scored twice in four minutes. Wirtz’s strike deflected in off Pascal Gross for the opener, and Isak converted from Bradley Barcola’s pull-back from the right.

A timeline of Liverpool 2 Albion 0: Kadioglu off in the 6th minute, Ayari chance in the 12th, Wirtz goal in the 17th, Isak goal in the 21st, Boscagli booked in the 45th, substitutions at 46, 54 and 75 minutes — The key moments at Anfield. Sources: Albion match report and match data.

Albion kept looking for a way back. The club says Chema Andres’ pressing forced Liverpool into giving the ball away from a goal-kick, Pascal Gross found Ayari, and the midfielder bent an effort against the post.

Olivier Boscagli, who had been booked, made way for Jack Hinshelwood at half-time. Chema Andres went off ten minutes after the restart, and De Cuyper and Malick Yalcouye both had efforts that were blocked or crowded out. Ayari was replaced by Georginio in the 75th minute.

The club’s report also puts the result in context: Liverpool had not won a league game at Anfield in six months, but that spell included only six league matches, and Albion were the visitors for one of only four occasions in the Premier League era that Liverpool failed to win after leading by two goals at home, in 2021.

The match in numbers

Albion had more of the ball and more shots, but Liverpool had four shots on target to Albion’s one. Albion took two yellow cards to none for Liverpool, committed nine fouls to Liverpool’s 13, and won two corners to Liverpool’s four.

Match stats for Liverpool 2 Albion 0: possession 64 to 36 per cent to Albion, shots 16 to 11, shots on target 1 to 4, corners 2 to 4, fouls 9 to 13, yellow cards 2 to 0 — The match in numbers. Source: match data (Sportradar).

What Hurzeler said

Head coach Fabian Hurzeler told the club it was a game Albion could have taken something from. In his post-match reaction he said:

“It was a missed opportunity. I think everyone felt that we could definitely take something away from this game. I think in the end we made two easy mistakes so they could score two goals.
“Besides that, we had enough chances to score ourselves.”
Fabian Hurzeler, Albion head coach

He also pointed to how the match changed after the first goal:

“I think we lost a little of our structure after being 1-0 down. We wanted to come back as quickly as possible, and then we lost a little of our structure that we have to analyse and do better.”
Fabian Hurzeler, Albion head coach

Albion’s league season so far

Sunday’s defeat was Albion’s second in eight Premier League matches this season. The results so far add up to five wins, one draw and two defeats, with 23 goals scored and seven conceded.

Albion’s eight Premier League results this season: wins over Aston Villa, Coventry, Arsenal, Sunderland and Crystal Palace, a draw with Leeds, and defeats at Chelsea and Liverpool, with Manchester City away next on Saturday 31 October at 3pm — Albion’s Premier League results this season, with the next fixture. Source: match data (Sportradar).

The previous league match was the 5-0 win over Crystal Palace at the Amex, which we covered in our Albion 5 Crystal Palace 0 report. Before the Liverpool game, the club said Albion had not conceded for 530 minutes, a run that ended on Sunday.

Next up: Manchester City

Albion now face Manchester City away on Saturday 31 October, with kick-off at 3pm. The club says the squad play at the Etihad twice in the space of four days.

A glass-fronted building outside the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, with picnic benches in the foreground and a blue sky above — Outside the Etihad Stadium in Manchester in 2015. Albion are there on Saturday 31 October

Before the Liverpool game, Hurzeler described the run of fixtures as a chance for his players to show what they can do. In the club’s pre-match interview he said:

“This is a great opportunity to prove ourselves, to prove to everyone that we should be exactly where we are at the moment. Therefore, we go with a really positive mindset into these games.”
Fabian Hurzeler, Albion head coach

We previewed the Anfield game in our match-day article. The goalless Conference League draw at Jablonec, Albion’s last match before Anfield, is in our Jablonec report.