Roberto Firmino's advice to Alexander Isak came true within nine minutes vs Ipswich

Roberto Firmino gave Alexander Isak a crucial piece of advice days after Liverpool's Premier League season began - and it certainly held true in the first half against Ipswich.

Isak scored a brace inside just nine minutes at Portman Road to put Andoni Iraola's side 2-0 up on Friday evening.

His first goal was a typical centre forward's finish; Isak latched on to a pass from Cody Gakpo and fired the ball in at the near post beyond Ipswich goalkeeper Kjell Scherpen. While it was admittedly not the tall Dutchman's best attempt at a save, Isak got power and precision on his shot.

His second goal was something of a masterpiece. Gakpo played a superb pass with the outside of his boot that split the Ipswich defence towards Isak, who still had plenty to do.

But he cut inside and then outside to take defender Jacob Greaves out of the game, before slotting perfectly beyond Scherpen into the bottom left corner.

He almost had a hat-trick on 33 minutes when he tapped home Florian Wirtz's low cross, but he was narrowly offside.

The Sweden international striker headed into this season under pressure to deliver on his £125 million price tag, having endured a difficult season last term punctuated by injury and poor form.

He had a difficult afternoon during Liverpool's 2-2 draw with Newcastle on the opening Premier League weekend, but opened his account during the 2-2 stalemate against Nottingham Forest last Saturday.

The first half was Isak at his very best - and he will have perhaps been thinking along the same lines as Reds icon Firmino before the game.

While he signed for a much smaller fee - £29 million to be exact - back in 2015, Firmino knows what it's all about to endure a difficult start to life at Anfield.

He didn't score in his first three months at the club, a spell which coincided with Brendan Rodgers' sacking and Jurgen Klopp's appointment.

It was Klopp who had the foresight to move the Brazilian to the centre forward position, and his first goal for the club in a 4-1 win over Manchester City in November 2015 set the tone for the rest of his Anfield career, where he won seven trophies and scored 111 goals in all competitions.

'He just needs to relax...' - Roberto Firmino on Alexander Isak

Firmino now plays for Al Sadd in the Qatar Stars League, and sat down with The Athletic at the end of August to discuss what Isak needed to do better in his first full season at Liverpool.

"Alex has to stay positive," he said. "All strikers go through difficult periods, but he's already proven in previous years that he's one of the best in the Premier League.

"There's always pressure when you play for a club as big as Liverpool, especially when they pay a lot of money to sign you. But he just needs to relax, and I'm sure the goals will come."

Isak did indeed relax for both of his goals against Ipswich, with his first goal a powerful finish before he showed more finesse and panache - perhaps because of the confidence from his first goal - for the second.

"You can't judge him on last season, because he had injuries and missed so many games," Firmino added. "It was a tough season for the club in general.

"But this is a new start with a new manager, and I'm sure he will grow in confidence as he gets more used to the players around him and gets more chances. There is no better place to be a No. 9."