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Alexander Isak was, as expected, subjected to constant booing by supporters of his former club Newcastle as he returned to St James’ Park with Liverpool for their Premier League opener.

Isak pushed for a move away from Newcastle last summer, even going on strike before eventually completing a record £125m transfer to Liverpool.

That exit damaged his relationship with most of the Magpies support, who had previously idolised him for his goalscoring exploits across three seasons. The Sweden forward had also been central to Newcastle winning their first domestic trophy in 70 years, scoring against Liverpool in a 2-0 Carabao Cup final victory in March 2025.

Isak missed last season’s meeting on Tyneside between the two sides because of injury, so Sunday’s opening match of the season marked his first return to St James’ Park as a Liverpool player.

The hostility towards Isak began immediately when he arrived back at his old ground, with chants of “rat, rat, rat” aimed at him after he got off the Liverpool team bus.

When Isak’s name was read out, it was greeted with whistles, and the 26-year-old then started the match from the centre spot to a loud chorus of boos, setting the tone for the afternoon.

He was jeered each time he touched the ball, and a heavy Newcastle tackle that left the striker in pain drew one of the biggest cheers of the day from the home crowd, at that stage surpassed only by Anthony Elanga’s fifth-minute opener.

Newcastle supporters also directed X-rated chants at Isak, singing: “There’s only one greedy b******”.

Isak, who scored 54 goals in 84 Premier League appearances during his time at Newcastle, will now hope to start reproducing those figures for Liverpool after injury problems and poor form contributed to a disappointing first season at Anfield last term.