John Brewin was our man in Suffolk tonight, and his verdict has landed. Here it is! Thanks for reading this MBM.

Gary O’Neil talks to Sky Sports. “Proud of the group … I thought we were excellent … two mistakes in the first ten minutes made it very difficult … but then we were probably the better side for large parts after that … more shots … I spoke about the setbacks at Manchester United and needing to respond to them better, and we did that very well … of course we don’t take any points … but a lot of good signs … a really good performance to go toe-to-toe with them in the way we did … very pleased … the mistakes were big and we were punished heavily by world-class players … an excellent response … we gave our best … but we are here for points and we need to make sure that next week we take some … second half we cut through them many times … didn’t quite find that moment of quality to get us back in it … this is one of our most extreme tests … we’re in a good spot.”

Post-match postbag. “A relief to see Alexander Isak playing the way he did for Newcastle. And delighted Liverpool managed to hold on to Cody Gakpo who, besides being a talented forward, is a close pal of Virgil van Dijk which helps to cement the team in terms of relationships. Also glad to see Iraola bring on Nyoni. Hopefully, together with the expensive new signings, Liverpool will use their academy players more like Nyoni and the promising Danns” – Colum Fordham

“I’m beginning to think Fulham must have sold Ipswich a ringer rather than Sasa Lukic - he hasn’t had his obligatory yellow card. It must be the pastoral idyll of Suffolk working its magic!” – Richard Hirst

“When Jan Molby dragged himself up the field to take a penalty, his scoring record was one of the best. Mike Dean also loved a penalty” – Andrew Goudie

Coming up next … Ipswich travel to Crystal Palace in the Premier League a week on Saturday, while Liverpool host Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday night, before welcoming Fulham to Anfield in the league on Saturday.

Andoni Iraola is congratulated by Sky’s Kelly Cates on his first win as Liverpool boss. “It is nice … we needed this one … we had a clean sheet … controlling the game quite well … we started strong … the second half was not as good as the first one … we did not concede clear chances … [Alexander Isak] is a massive player for us … probably my demands will not be about the goals … he’s going to produce the numbers … my fights with him [Iraola smiles cheekily] are more about other stuff … how to help the team … he has already played a very good amount of minutes … today we were much better in our press … we can give our number nine chances … for every centre-back to play next to Virgil [van Dijk] is a masterclass, a lesson … Jeremy [Jacquet] has played his first full game … the first two games he could not finish because he was tired … today there was a moment in the second half I was in doubt … but he has to suffer … he finished the game well … and he will build the fitness … we have good options [in midfield] … I think [Bradley Barcola] has had some very good minutes … it’s good to have him already going.”

Player-of-the-match Alexander Isak talks to Sky Sports about his two-goal haul. “We was waiting for the first win … we were talking about starting the game good, which we haven’t done recently … so that was perfect for us to get two quick goals … we are starting to get the play we want to play … be offensive … we could have scored more … [the travails of last season] was not easy … obviously a long injury … a difficult season in general … I was thinking to have a good World Cup then start off this season well … which I feel like I’ve done now … that’s kind of behind me but it wasn’t easy … [Cody Gakpo] has done amazingly in assisting me … finding me in those situations … good positions where I enjoy having the ball … we have so much threat up front … all of us will enjoy our offensive game … it is still early … we still have a lot to learn … game by game … the support was unreal today and very much appreciated.”

Liverpool’s first win of the season fetches them up to fifth spot. They won’t still be there by the time the third round of matches are complete, of course, but it’s nevertheless a welcome step in the right direction. Ipswich, given their testing early fixtures, should be happy enough with their return so far.

Virgil van Dijk speaks to Sky Sports … “It was a good performance … great goals … Cody outstanding … onto the next … [Gakpo] is important for us … he will be important this season … he showed it today again … last week as well … and the last couple of years … [Isak] is getting up to speed now … he is going to show that with a Liverpool shirt … we recover and focus on the Champions League.”

… as does Cody Gakpo. “It was a great game … some things we have to improve still … a much-needed win for us … very happy that we got the three points … happy with the performance … hopefully we [Gakpo and Isak] can assist each other many times … he owes me a few assists now! … hopefully beautiful things are ahead … outstanding support as always.”

Andoni Iraola wears a wide smile as he congratulates his two-goal hero Alexander Isak. He’s up and running as Liverpool boss. But both teams have something to take away from that. Liverpool obviously, with the three points that get their Premier League campaign properly going. Alexander Isak, too, with his first double for Liverpool, already on three goals for the season. He’s shoved towards the travelling fans by Cody Gakpo, who assisted him twice, so he can get his flowers. But Ipswich and Gary O’Neil will be pleased too, when it all comes down, with the way they responded to conceding two quickfire goals early in the match. They battled well for the remaining 80-odd minutes, and though they didn’t really get much going in the final third, will be pleased with their overall performance and general display of moxie. It’ll stand them in good stead going forward. They’ll play worse this season and win.

90 min +5: Enciso cuts in from the left and looks for the top right. Way wide. Alisson had it covered. Liverpool so close now to their precious clean sheet.

90 min +4: On Sky, Chris Sutton names Alexander Isak as his player of the match. Could anybody quibble?

90 min +3: McAteer dribbles a shot goalwards. Easy for Alisson. Liverpool are closing in on just their second clean sheet in 14 matches.

90 min +2: Flemming and Davis combine cutely down the left, and for a split second look to have opened Liverpool up … but Nyoni nips in to intercept and calmly clear. He’s the real deal, and Liverpool, so short on defensive nous in their stock of midfielders, will need him over the coming months. Not sure why they didn’t act in the transfer window, but here we all are.

90 min: … so having said that, Jacquet slips and nearly allows McAteer a run on goal. But his team-mates recover the situation. Then Koumas comes on for Wirtz, who has been ineffectual, bordering on poor. There will be five additional minutes.

89 min: Enciso tries to release Greaves down the inside left, but Jacquet comes across to impose himself and shepherd the ball out for a goal kick. The young centre-back has recovered well after that shaky couple of minutes early in the second half.

88 min: Barcola closes down O’Shea, and though the ball ricochets back off him and out for an Ipswich throw, he’s earned himself another appreciative cry from the Liverpool support.

86 min: Wirtz has an opportunity to launch a counter, but misplaces the pass. Clarke is teed up, just to the left of the Liverpool D, and takes a whack. His shot deflects off his own man Diop, and sails wide of the left-hand post, but not by much. And Alisson, wrong-footed, was rooted to the spot.

84 min: Gakpo romps down the right and looks for Wirtz, free in the box. His low cross isn’t accurate, forcing Wirtz wide, and then the flag pops up for offside anyway. Then Mac Allister is subbed out for Nyoni.

83 min: A bit of space for Davis down the left again. He looks for Flemming in the middle, but Araujo deflects the cross back to Alisson. Araujo has had a good game in (one of) Liverpool’s problem position(s).

81 min: Greaves slips a cute pass down the inside-left channel to release Davis, who enters the box only to be denied a chance to shoot or cross by Araujo. But it will be a corner to Ipswich, which Lukic takes … only to fail to beat the first man. What a waste.

79 min: Another double Ipswich change, as Palacios and Fatawu are replaced by McAteer and Ouattara.

77 min: Flemming curls a weak shot in from the left. Alisson claims. Liverpool counter through Barcola, who dribbles into the box from the left and rolls unselfishly across for Szoboszlai … only for Gakpo to nip in and butcher a shot over the bar.

75 min: Fatawu dribbles dangerously down the right and enters the box … only to be denied by a characteristically haughty intervention by Van Dijk. “Jan Molby and Mike Dean!” purrs Niall Mullen. “Two football legends who could run a game from the centre circle.”

74 min: Flemming strides down the right and delivers a low cross through the Liverpool six-yard box. But there’s nobody in Ipswich blue making a run, allowing Araujo to flick clear, and in any case the flag pops up for offside.

73 min: The pace drops. Both teams unable to put much together at the minute.

71 min: Barcola chases a pass down the left but Scherpen comes out of his box to deal with the danger. “I saw Jan Molby play centre back in a Goodison derby,” writes Gary Naylor. “He never got as far as the centre circle. Still ran the game though.”

67 min: Barcola’s first couple of touches, jinking in elegantly from the left, draws oohs and aahs from the travelling support. His third, an attempt to one-two with Wirtz, doesn’t come off.

66 min: Ipswich respond with a double change of their own: Emersonn and Maeda are replaced by Clarke and Flemming, who like Barcola is also making his debut tonight.

65 min: Had Isak remained on, it would have been the first time in football history that three £100m players were on the same pitch for the same team at the same time. But we must wait for that particular modern-day pleasure.

64 min: Liverpool make a double change. Isak and Munoz make way for Gravenberch and the new man Barcola.

62 min: Fatawu goes long down the middle. Emersonn is never getting the better of Jacquet and Van Dijk, the latter finally heading back to Alisson. Still a sense that there’s something in this for Ipswich.

60 min: Looks like Barcola is receiving some tactical instruction from the Liverpool coaching staff. We might see him soon. Meanwhile on the pitch, Enciso curls softly towards the bottom right. Alisson, who hasn’t looked his assured self tonight, blocks but allows the ball to squirt away. He eventually claims, but is fortunate Emersonn wasn’t sniffing around.

58 min: Wirtz tries to combine with Isak down the inside-left channel, but his attempt to spin into space on the edge of the box is no good. Still, some much-needed possession for Liverpool, who haven’t looked settled since the restart.

57 min: Kerkez slides in recklessly on Fatawu, and that’s a no-brainer of a booking. Liverpool suddenly look a little ragged, and panicky at the back.

56 min: Fatawu cuts in from the right and curls towards the top left. Well wide, and Alisson had it covered. But Ipswich are threatening to get back into this game.

55 min: Scherpen dallies with the ball at his feet, then miscontrols, and is fortunate not to be closed down by Munoz.

53 min: Munoz skedaddles down the right but he’s quickly surrounded by five players. Ipswich counter, and Jacquet once again catches Emersonn. That could easily have been a second booking in as many minutes, but the referee shows the young man some mercy. Lucky Jacquet.

52 min: Szoboszlai curls in from the right. If Wirtz controls, he’s shooting from six yards. He doesn’t control and Diop clears. Emersonn challenges for a high ball on the halfway line, and is high-kicked for his trouble by Jacquet, who goes into the book.

51 min: Liverpool enjoy some sterile midfield domination. Arne Slot would have been proud. Meanwhile Andrew Goudie, of half-time postbag fame, has got Jon Taylor reminiscing: “There were a few games in the 90s when Jan Molby played central midfield alongside John Barnes in his late-era, deep-lying and decidedly-less-svelte years. The two of them sat in the centre circle dictating play: it was like watching a binary solar system with two suns and the rest of the players orbiting around them.”

49 min: All a bit scrappy at the moment. In lieu of anything exciting happening, Kerkez celebrates winning a throw like he’s just scored from 30 yards.

47 min: Szoboszlai delivers from the right. Mac Allister, free six yards out, flaps a weak header goalwards. Easy for Scherpen. Mac Allister should have done so much better.

46 min: Mac Allister and Van Dijk confuse each other, nearly allowing Enciso to romp clear. Alisson comes out of his goal to whack clear. Up the other end, Wirtz shoots from the edge of the D, and his shot is deflected wide right for the first corner of the second half.

Ipswich get the second half started. No changes as of yet.

Half-time postbag. “xG is one of those analytics stats that has breached containment and is now polluting football discourse. Unfortunately, like pollution, it’s difficult to clear up once it’s out there so we now have to live with it. More seriously, it’s only really meaningful over the long term. If a term is outperforming its xG, then it’s really taking its chances, but if it’s underperforming, then it needs to work on its finishing. In a single game, it tells you very little. As a statistic, it’s better than shots on target, as it at least tries to take into account the quality of them, but that’s a really low bar to get over” – Andy (Not That One) Flintoff

“I’ve been trying to squeeze ‘No 6 collaborations project’ into a reply to Peter Oh (17 min) which is still relevant to the match, but I’ve got nothing. I will be watching closely at the end though to see if Issa Diop and Milos Kerkez have a long chat. You never know” – Rob K

“All the palaver over Mike Dean this week reminded me that the great Jan Molby didn’t leave the centre circle for years” – Andrew Goudie

“Gakpo and Isak. Shall we call this partnership GakSak?” – Paul Waite

“Good to see Isak reviving Suarez’s beef with all things East Anglian” – Ian Copestake

45 min +1: The game suddenly slips into Basketball Mode. Gakpo tears down the left but can’t find Wirtz with a poor pass infield; Palacios quick-breaks, but clanks his opportunity to release Fatawu down the right straight to Mac Allister. Both teams frustrated, Liverpool especially so as Fatawu had clipped Gakpo with the ball gone, just inside the area. But you’re rarely getting a penalty kick for that.

45 min: … Gakpo batters clear. There will be two additional first-half minutes.

44 min: The corner takes a while, because the referee allows Davis to retie his boot. When it eventually comes in, it’s Jacquet’s turn to slice a clearance, and Emersonn forces a corner that’ll come in from the right. Fatawu takes, and …

42 min: When the free kick’s finally taken, Kerkez crosses from the left. Jacquet cushions the ball into the road of Wirtz, who carefully threads a shot towards the bottom right. But there’s no real pace on the ball, and it’s easy for the keeper. Ipswich go up the other end, Davis crossing from the left, and Araujo carelessly shins a clearance backwards and out for a corner.

41 min: Gakpo is skittled 40 yards out. Mac Allister tries to take a quick free kick, only for Enciso to step in the road. He’s booked for delaying the restart.

40 min: Szoboszlai, in space on the right, has the option of releasing Munoz into even more space … but opts to shoot instead. Scherpen once again parries clear. He’s had a busy – and mixed – evening so far.

38 min: Alisson launches long. Diop misjudges, nearly letting Isak in on goal, but Greaves comes across to help the ball back to his keeper. Ipswich go up the other end, Enciso looking for the top-right corner from distance. He slices miles wide. It’s been a pretty open, easy-on-the-eye game.

36 min: Liverpool coach Tommy Elphick is booked for telling it as he sees it.

35 min: Maeda probes down the inside-left but Jacquet doesn’t give him much room to work with, and the eventual shot dribbles through to Alisson.

34 min: Just before that disallowed goal, Emersonn gently nudged Van Dijk off balance while the defender was in mid air, and the Liverpool captain landed awkwardly. It should have been a foul, but the referee didn’t blow. Van Dijk, Mac Allister and Gakpo not happy with the official. Thankfully there’s no harm done.

33 min: Wirtz turns down the inside-left channel into space, then rolls infield for Isak, who opens his body and calmly slots into the bottom right. But the flag goes up for offside, correctly so. It was close, though.

31 min: Wirtz tees up Mac Allister, just outside the Ipswich D. Mac Allister pings a rising shot over the bar. Not by much, though Scherpen had it covered.

30 min: Enciso nearly beats Mac Allister in a foot race down the inside-right channel. But not quite. Instead he crosses, looking for Maeda, who is denied by Araujo, who slices clear. Then Fatawu crosses from the right, Davis heading harmlessly over the bar from close range. Ipswich are knocking on the door, all of a sudden.

28 min: The xG at the moment: Ipswich 0.36, Liverpool 0.35. Have to admit, it’s not always the easiest stat to understand.

27 min: From the left, Lukic whips Ipswich’s first corner of the evening to the near post. Alisson comes to punch and misses the ball altogether. He’s very fortunate that it hits Gakpo and drops back to him in an otherwise crowded six-yard box. That wasn’t exactly authoritative.

26 min: Fatawu runs at Kerkez again. He crosses long for Davis, who heads back from the byline. Emersson shapes to shoot, six yards out, but Jacquet pops up to deflect out for a corner. From which …

24 min: Szoboszlai snaffles possession, exchanges passes with Wirtz, and peals a shot towards the bottom right. Scherpen parries clear again, but not wholly convincingly. Liverpool dominating and in search of a third.

22 min: Munoz probes down the right; Wirtz down the left. Liverpool beginning to apply some pressure again. “I’ll admit that I have the memory of a gnat, but I’m genuinely shocked by how well Isak took these goals,” writes Kári Tulinius. “Which I shouldn’t’ve been, since those sorts of goals were the reason why Liverpool handed over the oversized novelty check.”

20 min: … but they’d better not concede another, and this time Fatawu’s loose pass near his own box finds Szoboszlai, who whistles a shot towards the bottom left. Scherpen is up to the task this time, and with a strong hand turns the ball out for a corner, from which nothing comes.

19 min: It looks like Fatawu fancies himself against Kerkez down the Ipswich right. He pushes the defender back towards his box before crossing for Enciso, whose shot dribbles through to Alisson. Ipswich are not without hope when they go forward.

17 min: Munoz bursts into space from deep at high speed. He nearly runs past everyone, in a straight line, but Diop comes across to intercept. Had the defender not been on point, the road-running Munoz was clean through. Meanwhile here’s Peter Oh responding to the gauntlet (sort of) thrown down by Rob Knap (8 min): “Is Ed Sheeran in the house? Liverpool’s signings will ÷ opinion and x social media-fuelled armchair rants. I sure hope there’s a + side to spending so much on Barcola and Araújo. I’m not sure that the latter at right back adds up, although I’d love to be proven wrong. Subtract nothing from Liverpool, but Ipswich will see themselves as = on the pitch.”

15 min: That’s also two assists for Gakpo, of course, a man so nearly bundled out of the door during the transfer window. Penny for the thoughts of Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City right now.

13 min: Greaves crosses from the left and Emersonn heads harmlessly over the bar from close range. Turns out he was offside anyway, but Ipswich have responded to conceding the second goal rather better than they did the first.

12 min: That’s now six career goals for Isak against Ipswich. He’s only just into his third meeting with them. Two minutes and 46 seconds elapsed between his latest two.

11 min: Fatawu drives at Kerkez down the right, drifts infield, and looks for the top-left corner with a rising curler. Over the bar, but not by much. Alisson would have had work to do had it been on target.

10 min: Mac Allister goes into the book for clipping the heel of Enciso. So not the perfect start for Liverpool.

8 min: Scherpen might have done better with that. But Isak gave his shot plenty of juice. No doubt the keeper will get pelters, but put it this way: it’d have been a fine save had he managed to stop that fierce drive. Meanwhile here’s Rob Knap on the pre-match postbag comment from Niall Mullen about Barcola: “Not quite Peter Oh standards, but it could’ve been Wirtz.”

5 min: Greaves rolls a pass down the left touchline for Davis, who can’t get past Araujo. Liverpool’s stand-in right-back nearly runs the ball out for a goal kick but eventually half-clears. Wirtz competes with Enciso and tugs his man. A free kick to Ipswich, who load the box. Fatawu delivers, and …

4 min: It’s all Liverpool in these extremely early stages. Ipswich have hardly had a touch. The lively Munoz twists his way past Palacios down the right but can’t repeat the trick with Greaves, who shepherds the ball back to Scherpen in the Ipswich goal.

2 min: …nothing much occurs. Szoboszlai’s delivery no good.

1 min: Munoz backs himself in a foot race against Davis down the right and wins the first corner of the evening. From which …

Liverpool get the ball rolling. Portman Road roars. “Well, Liverpool are on for 38 points, which should hopefully keep them up,” chirps Matt Dony. “It’s as positive as I get these days. Sigh.”

The teams are out! Ipswich in blue, Liverpool in red. A wonderful start-of-the-weekend, possibly-a-few-pints-to-the-good atmosphere under the lights at Portman Road! Not long now. In the meantime, here’s Dave Estherby with some pre-match words of encouragement for Liverpool: “Not really sure what’s going on upstairs at Anfield. Another summer where they’ve spaffed money up the wall for unproven PL players without realising they need a goalkeeper, two full backs, a centre half, two forwards, a winger and a replacement for whatever Mac Allister is supposed to do. AND back up for Ekitike who probably won’t play until the new year at least. Shambles. I feel sorry for Iraola, he couldn’t really turn them down but it might end up a backwards step.”

Pre-match postbag. “Leaving aside Liverpool’s less than imperial start to the season, you have to admit that’s a very tasty teamsheet on offer tonight - the right blend of youth, experience, Hungary’s answer to Bryan Robson and a World Cup winner in the middle of the park, a striker coveted by Man City, a Champions League winner on the bench and in Wirtz our very own Juan Sebastian Veron!” – Peadar de Burca

“Why’s Wataru Endo still at Liverpool? He’s 33 and hardly played last season under Slot. Iraola hasn’t included him in the Champions League roster so apparently he doesn’t think much more of him that Slot did. He’s got a good couple of years left in him as a DM somewhere” – Tony Hughes

“I’m worried that Liverpool’s new signing might not be aggressive enough for the league. I hear his Barcola is worse than his bite-ola” – Niall Mullen

It’s a proper mid-table clash tonight: 12th versus 13th. Tonight’s winner will almost certainly end the evening in fifth place; should the game end in a draw, Ipswich will make it into the top half of the table, while Liverpool would rise to 11th. All to play for!

^{(The usual po-faced early-season caveats apply, but where’s the harm in it?)}

Gary O’Neil’s turn to speak to Sky Sports. “[The first half at Old Trafford] gives us a big belief that we can compete at this level … the home win against Sunderland was huge for us … we don’t really focus on outcome or results, we just try to commit to being the best version of ourselves all the time … we drifted away from that because of things that happened in the game [at Old Trafford] … it is important that we are better than that … we will be tested tonight, I am sure something will go against us … we can’t go toe to toe … we need to pick our moments … that will be really important for us … you need to be good with the ball … you can’t hang in there for 38 games of a Premier League season … I’m looking forward to it … let’s see if we can please this incredible place again … we’re ready … the group are in a great spot.”

More from Iraola on Sky. “It’s not the results you want, the two draws … we have also been losing both games … always from behind … when you start well, everything looks better … we will try not to concede goals from throw-ins like the other day … offensively the team is doing well but we are not getting the win … Alex [Isak] is feeling comfortable after a difficult season … it’s a good start for him … Ipswich at home is very strong … at Old Trafford they played a fantastic first half … they are doing well … [we need] to start stronger.”

Sky Sports anchor Kelly Cates asks Andoni Iraola whether he was tempted to start Bradley Barcola. “Yes … honestly I was tempted … he has looked good training … but it’s true that he hasn’t played any minutes in pre-season … he is ready … I think definitely we will use him in the second half … but also with some precaution because we do not want to lose him straight away … it makes sense, no, to have him on the bench … he is a smart player … he understands the game … he is quite shy, he doesn’t speak a lot … improving his English … he has his friends with him [Jeremy Jacquet and Hugo Ekitike] who he is more comfortable with … but he has been really good for the first week … I hope he does well straight away.”

Portman Road has become something of a fortress for Ipswich. They’re unbeaten in 18 league games at home. Seventeen of those matches were in the Championship, admittedly, but you can only deal with what’s put in front of you. Liverpool meanwhile haven’t won any of their last six Premier League fixtures, a run that stretches back to April. They’ll be hoping Alexander Isak’s personal form against Ipswich – he’s scored four in just two games, all for Newcastle United – will help them snap that sequence.

Ipswich Town make one change to the side sent out to start the 5-2 defeat at Manchester United. Exequiel Palacios, making his full debut for the Tractor Boys, replaces Marcelino Núñez in midfield. Zian Flemming, the new man in from Burnley, is on the bench.

Liverpool also make one change from their last match, the 2-2 draw at Anfield with Nottingham Forest. Ronald Araújo replaces Jeremie Frimpong at right-back. The new £106m signing Bradley Barcola is named as a substitute.