Newcastle star’s “incredible” 9/10 display made Isak unplayable
By Angus Sinclair
21 – 26 minutes
Newcastle United
4
Sign in to your FootballFanCast account
Newcastle Alexander Isak
That’s how you win a football match. Newcastle United ripped Ipswich Town to shreds on Saturday afternoon, looking as fluent as they’ve been in a long while and claiming a third successive victory in all competitions.
Newcastle’s patchy Premier League form this season has been a real frustration for Eddie Howe, whose tactical acumen and interpersonal skills remain closed to question. Still, something was missing.
Was it a lack of intensity? Burnout? A loss of direction after a testing, injury-hit campaign that preceded an uninspiring summer of missed opportunities?
Whatever has been out of kilter across the past few months, the Magpies seem to have reoriented themselves now. Howe’s side look as good as they’ve been in 2024, and there’s one man above all others who stood out at Portman Road. You know who.
Alexander Isak’s stunning performance
Alexander Isak bagged a hat-trick at Ipswich to extend his brilliant run of clinical form, nine goals and three assists from nine Premier League matches, to be precise.
The Sweden international is bound to have a wealth of high-profile suitors looking jealously toward Tyneside and checking purses to ascertain the practicality of a bumper bid in 2025.
Correspondent Lee Ryder hailed the ‘ruthless display’ in his post-match player ratings, of which Isak received a perfect 10/10 score, but the 25-year-old did miss a glorious chance to grab another and might have been a little tame with one other shot.
Premier League Top Scorers (24/25)
Rank
Player
Goals
1.
Mohamed Salah
13
1=
Erling Haaland
13
3.
Cole Palmer
11
4.
Alexander Isak
10
4=
Bryan Mbeumo
10
4=
Chris Wood
10
Stats via Premier League
Isak might steal the headlines – rightly so, to be fair – but he wasn’t actually the finest performer for the Toon on Saturday afternoon. Jacob Murphy was the architect of the success and certainly looks like a man playing with the foresight of a Newcastle swoop for a right winger.
Jacob Murphy was Howe’s real hero
Newcastle’s interest in a new right winger has been well documented since the summer, with a £50m bid rejected for Anthony Elanga in August and reliable reports that Brentford’s Bryan Mbemuo is being eyed this winter.
Jacob Murphy celebrates for Newcastle
Miguel Almiron is on the periphery with no way back, but Murphy is definitely fighting for his place in the squad – and if his recent purple patch is anything to go by, he might just continue to play a big part in the year to come. Perhaps longer.
At Ipswich, Isak benefitted from the 28-year-old’s steady stream of playmaking, for Murphy created three big chances to complement his goal-and-assist display, as per Sofascore.
A wonderful back-heeled assist for Isak capped off the dream performance, with Ryder awarding him with a 9/10 match score that spoke clearly of his faculty for success in this competitive Newcastle side. The reporter singled out the winger’s “incredible work” for the assist.
Murphy also made an important tackle and won his only contested ground duel of the afternoon. He’s willing to fight and, now having notched three goals and three assists apiece from as many Premier League matches, has made Isak unplayable and himself undroppable as the festive period hits full swing.
Other 14 (7)
Related
