Sports
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)
Sports
Pirates star pitcher makes unfortunate history after being taken out in middle of perfect game bid
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Jared Jones was flirting with Major League Baseball history on Wednesday night — he got it, but it was not what he originally envisioned.
The Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher retired the first 18 batters he faced, but he was taken out in the middle of his perfect game bid after six innings.
Now, the Pirates certainly have their reasons — the 24-year-old Jones hasn’t thrown more than 81 pitches in eight starts since returning May 20 after missing all of last season while undergoing ulnar collateral ligament internal brace surgery on May 21, 2025. He was yanked with 77 pitches and likely would have needed more than 100 pitches to record the 25th perfect game in MLB history.
Jared Jones of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitches during the first inning against the Atlanta Braves at PNC Park on July 8, 2026, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
However, Jones left the game after getting zero run support, so when the Atlanta Braves tacked on three runs late for a 3-0 victory, Jones instead found himself in the wrong chapter of the history books.
According to Opta Stats, Jones became the first pitcher in the modern era (since 1920) to pitch at least six perfect innings and not record a win.
“It does suck. Something’s cool coming on, but I’m on what? My eighth start off of surgery? I completely understand it, and it is what it is,” Jones told reporters after the game.
Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Jared Jones (17) makes his way to the field to warm up before pitching against the Atlanta Braves at PNC Park. (Charles LeClaire/Imagn Images)
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Jones said he didn’t entertain attempting to complete the perfect game.
“Not with the pitch count,” he said. “Not really ever expecting to go nine right now, so that was never in my head.”
Joey Bart, traded to the Braves from the Pirates on June 18, followed a double by Mike Yastrzemski with a 422-foot, two-run homer to left-center field off a slider from Dennis Santana. Drake Baldwin added an RBI single to center in the ninth for good measure.
It was the second time in less than a week that a pitcher was taken out of the game with a perfect bid through six innings — the Miami Marlins took Eury Perez out after seven innings in which he had 92 pitches. Perez, too, is in the midst of returning from injury and has surprisingly found himself right in the postseason mix.
He was pulled for Lake Bachar to start the eighth, and the Marlins allowed eight runs to the Athletics in the final two innings, but held on to win 9-8.
Jared Jones (17) of the Pittsburgh Pirates delivers a pitch during a MLB game against the Cincinnati Reds on June 27, 2026, at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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The Pirates are 4.0 games out of the final wild card spot, which is held by the Marlins.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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WASHINGTON — The Dodgers are scheduled to visit the White House on July 23 to celebrate their latest World Series title.
“President Trump is excited to welcome the Los Angeles Dodgers BACK to the White House to celebrate their World Series championship!,” White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said in a statement to The Times.
The date falls on a scheduled off day in the middle of a nine-game East Coast road trip for the Dodgers. The team will play three games in Philadelphia against the Phillies July 20-22 before ending the trip with a three-game series against the New York Mets July 24 to 26.
The visit continues a tradition from the Dodgers’ two previous World Series championships. They were hosted by President Biden in 2021 and President Trump in April 2025.
After the Dodgers claimed their second consecutive World Series title with a dramatic Game 7 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays, a visit to the White House was planned, but it wasn’t until Thursday that a date was officially booked and confirmed.
Questions swirled around whether players would decline the visit this year after it did not happen during a scheduled visit to Washington in April.
Kiké Hernández said in 2018 he was unsure he would have gone had the Dodgers won the World Series the previous year. Mookie Betts said he was undecided and needed to talk it over with his family when last year’s visit was announced. After winning his first World Series with the Boston Red Sox in 2018, Betts skipped their trip to the White House the following year during Trump’s first term.
Both players, along with every returning member of the 2024 team who was with the team during its road trip, participated in the visit. The only notable absence was first baseman Freddie Freeman, who remained in Los Angeles to nurse an ankle injury.
Manager Dave Roberts, who indicated in comments to The Times in 2019 he might not go to the White House if Trump was president, also participated in last year’s ceremony.
Asked at the Dodgers’ fan festival in January about the possibility of returning to the White House, Roberts told The Times’ Bill Shaikin: “For me, I stand by: I’m a baseball manager. That’s my job.”
“I was raised — by a man who served our country for 30 years — to respect the highest office in our country,” Roberts said. “For me, it doesn’t matter who is in the office, I’m going to go to the White House. I’ve never tried to be political. … For me, I am going to continue to try to do what tradition says and not try to make political statements, because I am not a politician.”
Clayton Kershaw, who retired after last season but was on Team USA for this year’s World Baseball Classic, told The Times in the spring that he was aware Dodgers fans are split over whether the team should visit the White House again this year, but he said he is looking forward to it.
“I went when President Biden was in office. I’m going to go when President Trump is in office,” Kershaw said. “To me, it’s just about getting to go to the White House. You don’t get that opportunity every day, so I’m excited to go.”
Times deputy sports editor Ed Guzman contributed to this report.
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All eyes were on Caitlin Clark on Wednesday night as she made her anticipated return from injury in a road matchup in Los Angeles.
But instead of a triumphant comeback, the Fever spent the entire night chasing the Sparks as Clark’s rough return fueled a 106-92 rout.
The superstar never found a groove, looking completely out of sync in her return from a back injury.
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Caitlin Clark huddles with teammates as the Indiana Fever battle the Sparks. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images) ((Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images))
Much of that disjointed performance falls squarely on head coach Stephanie White, who kept Clark on a ridiculously tight leash by limiting her to just 16 minutes. The stop-and-go approach could have sabotaged any chance for the phenom to establish a rhythm.
Clark finished with just 9 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Her minus-16 plus-minus told the story.
The Los Angeles Sparks were severely shorthanded, taking the floor without stars Kelsey Plum and Cameron Brink.
MERCURY’S NOW-DELETED SOCIAL MEDIA POST MOCKING CAITLIN CLARK DRAWS SCRUTINY AFTER STAR’S INJURY
Yet while a depleted Sparks roster played to win, Indiana spent the night over-managing its biggest asset.
With Clark on a minutes restriction and Aliyah Boston out of the lineup, Kelsey Mitchell was forced to shoulder the entire offensive burden.
Mitchell did her part, pouring in 29 points while shooting 5-of-9 from beyond the arc.
Caitlin Clark orchestrates the Fever offense as Indiana battles the Los Angeles Sparks in primetime action. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images) ((Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images))
But one hot hand couldn’t stop an efficient LA squad.
The Sparks shot 45% from three-point range, going 9-of-20 from deep to cruise to the 106-92 victory.
White’s next move is to sit Clark against the Mercury on Thursday while Boston returns.
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After Wednesday’s loss to a shorthanded Sparks team, it’s fair to question whether Indiana’s cautious approach is working. The Fever dropped to 12-9.
Caitlin Clark and Dearica Hamby face off as Fever and Sparks battle at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. (Photo by Tyler Ross/NBAE via Getty Images) ((Photo by Tyler Ross/NBAE via Getty Images))
Send us your thoughts: alejandro.avila@outkick.com / Follow along on X: @alejandroaveela
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