Newcastle United moved up into the top four in the Premier League as they secured a 3-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers at St. James’ Park on Wednesday night.
The Magpies leapfrogged Chelsea to go into the Champions League qualification places and have Alexander Isak to thank, as their star striker scored twice and provided an assist.
Eddie Howe will surely be delighted with the display by his centre-forward in the match, with his quality in the final third ultimately making the difference.
Alexander Isak’s performance against Wolves
The Sweden international put in yet another exceptional display at the top end of the pitch for the Magpies and was directly involved in all three of the goals on the night.
His opening strike was aided by the deflection off Rayan Ait-Nouri but it was still a sweet effort from the edge of the box that forced the defender to put a boot in the way.
Isak, who won four of his nine duels, then scored the second goal with a terrific, composed, finish past Jose Sa after a fine first touch around the penalty spot.
The former Real Sociedad star completed his night with a sublime pass to pick out Gordon in the second half, opting to find his teammate instead of going for the glory of a hat-trick.
Isak, who has now scored 15 goals in the Premier League this season, was far from the only top performer on the park for the Magpies, as central midfielder Bruno Guimaraes showed that he is just as valuable as the striker.
Why Bruno Guimaraes is as valuable as Alexander Isak
The Brazil international proved, once again, that he is a pivotal player for Howe with a fantastic showing in the middle of the park for Newcastle, with his ability on and off the ball.
Whilst Isak is the man at the end of every move, scoring or assisting, Guimaraes is just as important because of the work he does to win possession back for the team, as well as being able to progress the play with his quality with the ball at his feet.
|
Bruno Guimaraes vs Wolves |
|
|---|---|
|
Minutes played |
90 |
|
Touches |
88 |
|
Tackles won |
5 |
|
Key passes |
4 |
|
Duels won |
7/12 |
|
Accurate passes |
54/65 (83%) |
|
Accurate long balls |
2/5 |
|
Shots |
2 |
|
Interceptions |
1 |
|
Stats via Sofascore |
|
As you can see in the table above, the Brazilian dynamo’s performance against Wolves had it all; plenty of touches to control the play, tackles to win the ball back, duels won to compete physically, and key passes to split open the away side’s defence.
One of those key passes, of course, found Isak in the box for his second goal of the evening, which was Guimaraes’ sixth assist in the Premier League this season.
The former Lyon star has averaged 3.2 tackles and interceptions per match and racked up one goal and nine ‘big chances’ created, illustrating the impact he has had in and out of possession for Newcastle throughout the campaign.
He is the hub of the team in the middle of the park, as everything runs through him, and that is why the Brazilian gem is just as valuable to Howe as Isak is, and the manager will be hoping that both of them can stay fit for the remainder of the season as they fight for a Champions League place.
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