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Is Alexander Isak the striker who troubles Virgil van Dijk more than any other?

Published

12 months ago

March 15, 2025

Is Alexander Isak the striker who troubles Virgil van Dijk more than any other?

You could make a strong case that this year’s Carabao Cup final will see Europe’s most threatening striker come up against its strongest centre-back.

Alexander Isak has scored 22 goals in all competitions this season as he looks to surpass a career-best tally of 25, achieved in 2023-24. If he wants to add to that total on Sunday, he will likely need to get the better of Liverpool’s imperious captain, Virgil van Dijk.

But for some tightness in his groin, Isak could have got in some further practice against Van Dijk in last month’s Premier League match at Anfield — a game in which Newcastle were comfortably beaten after failing to register a single shot on target.

Even without Isak in the side that night, Van Dijk made sure to give the Sweden international the praise he deserved before their impending battle at Wembley.

“A final is always different and we’re very wary of the threat they possess,” Van Dijk said after his side’s 2-0 win on February 26. “We know Isak is definitely the most in-form striker at the moment in world football, so you know when he’s back that will give them a boost.”

On the one hand, the broad statistics help us draw a simple conclusion about the pair’s previous battles. Liverpool have won four and drawn one of the games in which Van Dijk and Isak have both started for their respective sides.

However, to say the Dutch international has had things his own way across those five games would only be telling half the story.

Isak has scored three and assisted one of the seven goals Newcastle have managed when facing Liverpool in that time. Only Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli and Brighton & Hove Albion’s Solly March (both five) have more combined goals and assists against Liverpool since the start of 2022-23 — with neither being centre-forwards aiming to lock horns with Liverpool’s centre-backs.

Put simply, Isak has caused Liverpool’s captain issues every time the pair have shared the same turf. So what can we expect on Sunday?

Given Isak has a tendency to drift to the left side of Newcastle’s attack, it may be that Liverpool’s Ibrahima Konate is the man who should be more aware of the 25-year-old’s threat.

Not including last season’s game, when Van Dijk was sent off — don’t worry, we’ll get to that — you can see Isak’s tendency to pull away from the Dutchman’s side in his early matches, before going toe-to-toe in his last two games against Liverpool.

There are not too many strikers who can match Van Dijk’s physical attributes in terms of pace, power, and height, and there are signs the 33-year-old plays slightly differently against Isak for that reason.

Van Dijk does not typically seek out defensive work for himself, but in each game they have played, there is a greater inclination to get touch-tight to Isak to nullify any threat before it really develops — whether that be close to his own penalty area or pushing high to follow Isak’s deeper runs.

With Isak pulling into those wider left channels in Newcastle’s attack, there are even occasions of Van Dijk being willing to drift out of position — running across his own centre-back — to follow the Sweden international rather than pass him onto a team-mate.

Such is the threat he offers that Isak has the ability to drag Van Dijk into areas he does not want to be in.

Liverpool’s captain sees it as something of an insult if he is ever asked to put the afterburners on and engage in a sprint, but he was forced to match Isak’s speed and pull across to the far touchline to engage during their most recent meeting at St James’ Park.

Not many centre-forwards go up against Van Dijk in a one-on-one battle and come out the other side with the ball at their feet, but Isak managed to pull ahead of the defender, which acted as a warning sign within the opening 15 minutes of December’s match.

Isak had clearly spooked Van Dijk with his movement and it was only 20 minutes later that he punished some uncharacteristically confused defending with an incredible finish.

Stationed between Liverpool’s centre-backs, Isak received a punched ball from Bruno Guimaraes with his left foot. Note that Newcastle’s No 14 is not in the eyeline of Van Dijk, forcing the Dutchman to swivel his body quickly when the pass is made — meaning there is a period when he is not looking at the man or ball as he looks to regain his orientation (see frame 2 below).

As the old football adage goes, when a striker can see the defender’s number, they know they have beaten them. Isak’s shot from distance is sublime, but the movement and speed of action are what turn Van Dijk inside out to create separation.

Playing on the last line is a particularly strong part of Isak’s game. He tends to start in an offside position before dropping back onside just as the opposition back line drops.

Much like an old-school No 9, Isak will place himself between the centre-backs to avoid being marked and attack the space in behind following a team-mate’s through ball. This can be seen from the two teams’ meeting in December…

… but it is a sequence that has proven lucrative for Isak against Liverpool’s back line.

In their game at Anfield last season, it was a similar sequence that featured Anthony Gordon cutting inside from the touchline before playing a purposeful slide pass behind the Liverpool defensive line. Isak barely needed to break stride as he ran between the centre-backs to finish beyond Alisson.

Earlier that season, it was an identical sequence that led to Van Dijk’s dismissal at St James’ Park. Gordon comes inside, Isak is placed between the centre-backs and a through ball enables Newcastle’s forward to race away.

If not for Van Dijk’s swipe at Isak in which he took man then ball, you would have likely seen another coolly taken finish from Isak. Had it been another, less-threatening Premier League striker, you could be confident Van Dijk would have simply ushered his man away from goal without making a challenge.

Newcastle’s injury and suspension issues mean Eddie Howe’s side will not be at full strength at Wembley — particularly down their left side — but they will provide a physical battle with their typical energy across the pitch.

Liverpool are the only ever-present Premier League side Howe has failed to beat in any competition since taking charge of Newcastle in November 2021, but any team with Isak has a fighting chance.

Crucially, if any striker could be named as Van Dijk’s kryptonite in recent years, it would be Isak.

(Top photo: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

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Sports

Deion Sanders mourns loss of Colorado quarterback Dominiq Ponder: ‘One of my favorites’

Published

3 hours ago

March 1, 2026

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Deion Sanders mourns loss of Colorado quarterback Dominiq Ponder: ‘One of my favorites’

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Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Dominiq Ponder died this weekend, the team’s head coach Deion Sanders confirmed on Sunday with a social media post.

“God please comfort the Ponder family, friends and loved ones,” Sanders wrote on social media. “Dom was one of my favorites! He was Loved, Respected & a Born Leader. Let’s pray for all that knew him & had the opportunity to be in his presence. Lord you’re receiving a good 1. Comfort us Lord Comfort us.”

Ponder was 23 years old.

Details of Ponder’s death are not yet known.

Colorado head coach Deion Sanders watches his team warm up before an NCAA college football game against TCU Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025, in Fort Worth, Texas. (Tony Gutierrez/AP Photo)

Ponder, a 6-foot-5, 200-pound signal caller, joined the Buffaloes and “Coach Prime’s” program in 2024 after spending time at Bethune-Cookman before making his way to Boulder.

Last season, Ponder played just two games for the Buffaloes while serving in his backup role. He recorded two rush attempts and one pass attempt.

The Opa Locka, Fla., native also received tribute from a fellow quarterback with the Buffaloes, Colton Allen.

Bethune-Cookman QB Dominiq Ponder takes a snap during the Wildcats’ spring game Saturday, April 22, 2023, at Daytona Stadium. (IMAGN)

“Dom, you were a blessing to so many people,” Allen wrote on Instagram. “You had a presence about you that just made everything better. You brought so much joy to me and everyone around you. I’m grateful for every lift, every practice, every rep, every conversation we got to share. I’ll carry those with me for the rest of my life.”

Ponder was going to be a part of Colorado’s spring practices, which are set to begin on Monday. It’s unknown if Sanders will postpone the start due to Ponder’s passing.

Ponder also received a tribute from the University of Central Florida.

Colorado head coach Deion Sanders watches his players warm up before an NCAA college football game against Utah, Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (Tyler Tate/AP Photo)

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“Our prayers are with Dominiq and the Ponder family along with all in the Colorado football program,” the university’s football account on X wrote.

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Scott Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.

Sports

No. 2 UCLA women dominate rival USC to finish Big Ten play undefeated

Published

4 hours ago

March 1, 2026

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No. 2 UCLA women dominate rival USC to finish Big Ten play undefeated

Sunday was “Senior Night” for the USC women’s basketball team at Galen Center, but it was the other team’s seniors who stole the show.

Gabriela Jaquez scored 14 points, Kiki Rice had 11 points and four assists and Lauren Betts had 15 rebounds and five assists as UCLA wrapped up the regular season with a 73-50 victory over its rival and finished undefeated in conference play for the first time since going 18-0 in the Pac-10 in 1998-99 under Kathy Olivier.

Having already clinched the regular-season title, UCLA became the first team to navigate the Big Ten schedule without a loss since Maryland in 2014-15.

“These are two elite programs, we knew it would be different tonight, we knew they’d come with fire,” said UCLA coach Cori Close, who improved to 9-4 against the Trojans since counterpart Lindsay Gottlieb started at USC in 2021. “We knew we’d have to do it with our defense, our rebounding and by taking care of the ball.”

It was the Bruins’ 22nd consecutive win, one shy of the record they set last season. Since their lone loss to then-No. 4 Texas on Nov. 26 in Las Vegas, they have won by 20 or more points 17 times.

Ranked second in the nation in both the Associated Press and coaches’ polls behind defending national champion Connecticut (30-0), the Bruins earned the No. 1 seed for the conference tournament in Indianapolis and got a bye into Friday’s quarterfinals.

Charlisse Leger-Walker, nicknamed “X-ray vision” by teammates, equaled her season high with 20 points for the Bruins (28-1, 18-0) while Gianna Kneepkens added 14 points and five assists.

“Anytime we play together we know we can win,” Leger-Walker said. “We did a good job looking into the scout. Every game we just think about going 1-0. People scouting us know that all five players on the court can score the ball.”

UCLA center Lauren Betts, left, controls the ball in front of USC forward Vivian Iwuchukwu during the first half Sunday.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

UCLA held USC to 27% shooting in the teams’ first meeting — a 34-point Bruins victory at Pauley Pavilion on Jan. 3 behind Betts’ 18 points. It was USC’s most lopsided loss under coach Lindsay Gottlieb. On Sunday, USC shot 39% and was only three for 19 from three-point range.

“Going undefeated [in conference] is a great step in the right direction towards what we want to accomplish,” said Jaquez, who appreciated the flowers she received before the game from USC. “I love this rivalry. It’s super fun to play against them and it was nice that they honored us too.”

UCLA jumped out to a 14-4 lead in the first five minutes and carried a 19-11 advantage into the second quarter. The Bruins widened the gap to 18 points by halftime, holding the Trojans scoreless for the last 3:08.

USC (17-12, 9-9) opened the second half on an 11-2 run but gave up 14 second-chance points and allowed 22 offensive rebounds.

UCLA guard Kiki Rice, front, and forward Angela Dugalic celebrate as USC guard Kennedy Smith walks away.

“If we get more possessions than our opponent we’re most likely going to win,” Close said. “We didn’t allow one basket on an out-of-bounds play and they lead the conference in that.”

Freshman guard Jazzy Davidson, USC’s leading scorer, got into early foul trouble but still finished with 12 points. She was held to 10 points on four-for-15 shooting in the first meeting.

“It was a great crowd, we were in the fight but we didn’t rebound or shoot well enough,” Gottlieb said. “We wanted to keep them out of our paint. We swarmed Betts, double-teamed her and got it out of her hands but other people scored.”

Londynn Jones, who spent three seasons in Westwood (playing in 108 straight games) before transferring to USC for her senior year, was held to six points in the team’s first meeting and nine points (on four-of-10 shooting) in the rematch. The Trojans’ other senior, Kara Dunn, was held scoreless in the first half and finished with eight points.

“I love Londynn,” Close said. “We think she looks better in blue, but we love her and I told her that. I appreciate all she gave to our programs.”

Asked if this is the best team she has ever coached, Close had a one-word answer.

“Yes.”

Sports

Israeli national gymnastics team suspends all activities after Iranian counter-attack

Published

15 hours ago

March 1, 2026

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Israeli national gymnastics team suspends all activities after Iranian counter-attack

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Israel’s national gymnastics team has suspended all training and team activities amid the recent Iranian counter-attack on the country following the U.S.-assisted strikes on Iran.

The Israel Gymnastics Federation (IGF) provided a statement to Fox News Digital announcing the violence has caused “unavoidable disruptions.”

“The current security situation in our region has resulted in unavoidable disruptions to our regular training schedule and has created significant uncertainty regarding the national teams’ professional plans, particularly as we are at the outset of the international season,” the statement read.

“At this time, all training activities have been temporarily suspended, pending approval from the relevant authorities to safely resume operations. Naturally, the suspension of training and the closure of airspace are causing considerable stress and concern. However, the safety and well-being of our gymnasts and professional staff remain our highest priority. We sincerely hope for safer and calmer days ahead, when we can focus solely on sport.”

A source within the team told Fox News Digital on Saturday that the gymnasts have been moving between bomb shelters since Iran’s counterstrikes began.

Israel’s gymnastics team is considered one of nation’s strongest Olympic programs alongside its Judo and sailing teams. The team is only a week removed from a successful trip at the Artistic Gymnastics World Cup in Germany, where the country’s star Artem Dolgopyat won the gold medal in floor gymnastics.

Now, the team will have to seek safety until the attacks are over.

The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem has directed all U.S. government employees and their family members to continue to shelter in place either in or near their residences as Iran continues to fire missiles at Israel.

Additionally, the embassy announced that due to the security situation, it would be closed on March 2, and did not give an estimate on when it would be reopening. The closure includes consular sections in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

The embassy also said it is “not in a position at this time to evacuate or directly assist Americans in departing Israel.” It noted that Ben Gurion Airport remains closed and there there are neither commercial nor charter flights operating from the airport.

On Friday, ahead of the launch of Operation Epic Fury, the embassy gave all non-essential workers permission to leave Israel, with reports that U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee urged those looking to leave to do so as soon as possible.

Iranian airstrikes killed at least eight Israelis on Sunday as Tehran’s latest missile barrage landed just miles from Jerusalem.

The strikes landed in the Israeli city of Beit Shemesh. Initial reports said four people were killed when missiles landed in a residential area on Sunday, but that death toll rose to eight, according to Israel’s national emergency service.

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Iran’s military has carried out counterattacks against Israel and U.S. bases in the Middle East after a joint U.S.-Israeli strike killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday.

The strikes also killed several other top Iranian leaders, including the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.

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Jackson Thompson is a sports reporter for Fox News Digital covering critical political and cultural issues in sports, with an investigative lens. Jackson’s reporting has been cited in federal government actions related to the enforcement of Title IX, and in legacy media outlets including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Associated Press and ESPN.com.