Isak was instrumental once again as Newcastle came from behind to beat Southampton 3-1 at St Mary’s on Saturday afternoon. ..Continue Reading
The Magpies had an early setback when Jan Bednarek scored for Southampton within ten minutes, but Isak equalized by winning and converting his own penalty midway through the first half.
Just four minutes later, Isak scored again, curling the ball past Alex McCarthy to register his 17th goal of the Premier League season, giving Newcastle a 2-1 lead.
Sandro Tonali added a third goal in the second half, and Newcastle held firm to secure a victory after their previous week’s loss to Bournemouth.
This result keeps Newcastle level on points with fourth-placed Manchester City, who later defeated Chelsea in the day.
‘Shall we talk about Isak? Yeah, why not! Another magnificent performance,’ ex-Newcastle striker Shearer – the Premier League’s all-time top scorer – said on the BBC’s Match of the Day programme.
‘Everything about his game… this is so clever (Isak’s play to win his spot-kick).
‘He’s in an offside position, but just watch his movement so that he comes to that position where he can receive the pass. He’s no longer offside.
‘[Joe] Aribo goes up against him. He forces it, he makes the defender make a challenge and it’s without doubt a penalty.’
On Isak’s penalty, Shearer added: ‘He’s got a really interesting technique.
‘He has a look at the goalkeeper just before he touches the ball and he puts it into the corner of the net.
‘From the other angle, you see he has one look at the goalkeeper and then all of a sudden he’s on the ball and just before he gets to the ball he lifts the head and looks at the goalkeeper again.
‘He sees him go that side and he slots it to the other side.’
Shearer believes Isak has now joined the ranks of Manchester City’s Erling Haaland and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah as the Premier League’s only true ‘world-class’ forwards.
‘I think there are three world-class forwards in the Premier League now,’ the former England forward continued.
‘Haaland being one, Salah being another and I think Isak has played himself into that company now.’
Though Danny Murphy and Gary Lineker both acknowledged Isak’s fantastic start to the season, they feel the Swede still needs to prove himself further before being classified as truly world-class.
‘I actually think he’s got world-class ability but to call him a world-class player… I think he’s got to do it for longer,’ ex-Liverpool and England midfielder Murphy said.
Lineker chimed in: ‘I absolutely agree with that. ‘I think he’s definitely got the capabilities though. There’s no question about that.’
Speaking shortly after the final whistle, Newcastle manager Howe suggested Isak was reaping the rewards after putting in the hard yards in training.
‘He’s been outstanding this year,’ Howe said. ‘Pretty much since day one he’s been a regular scorer for us and that’s no doubt helped his self-belief.
‘His general confidence when he enters the pitch seems really high at the moment and that’s not a given. You have to earn that through your training.’
