Alexander Isak on target again as in-form Newcastle beat Wolves
By Damian Spellman, PA
Alexander Isak became the first Newcastle player to score in eight successive Premier League games as his double helped condemn Wolves to a 3-0 defeat at St James’ Park.
The 25-year-old Sweden international opened the scoring with a deflected 34th-minute effort and then helped himself to a second after the break to take his tally to 16 goals in as many games and 17 for the season before setting up Anthony Gordon for a third.
His efforts were instrumental in securing a club record-equalling ninth successive win in all competitions for the Magpies and eased them into the top four.
The visitors started brightly with Joao Gomes lively in the middle of the field, and they might have made an impression had Goncalo Guedes not missed his kick when Rodrigo Gomes picked him out in the middle after Sandro Tonali had inadvertently diverted the ball into his path.
In the event, it was Jacob Murphy who unleashed the game’s first meaningful attempt with six minutes gone, forcing a sprawling save from Jose Sa.
Both sides were wasteful in possession as play switched quickly from end to end with the Wolves press particularly effective in the early stages, and they passed up a second good opportunity with 13 minutes gone when Guedes dragged a shot wide after Hwang Hee-chan’s cross had been allowed to travel across goal.
However, Sa had to get down well to repel Murphy’s 24th-minute strike and Emmanuel Agbadou made a superb block to deny Gordon seconds later before Santiago Bueno repeated the feat.
Isak dragged a 31st-minute effort wide after running on to Bruno Guimaraes’ fine through-ball with the Magpies piling on the pressure, and they finally made it tell 11 minutes before the break.
Murphy picked out Isak on the left and the Swede cut inside and worked his way into a shooting position with the help of a kind deflection before going for goal with a shot which looped up off defender Rayan Ait-Nouri and wrong-footed the keeper.
The visitors almost got themselves back in it with two minutes of the half remaining when Lewis Hall slipped as he and Gomes chased Guedes’ ball over the top and the wing-back crossed for Jorgen Strand Larsen, whose first-time shot clipped the outside of the post.
Half-time substitute Matheus Cunha warmed keeper Martin Dubravka’s hands with a 48th-minute snapshot and Gordon saw another attempt deflected over at the other end as the pace of the game showed little sign of abating.
But the Magpies gave themselves breathing space with 57 minutes gone when Guimaraes picked out an unmarked Isak deep inside the Wolves penalty area and he controlled before beating Sa with ease.
Cunha twice went close to reducing the deficit as Wolves rallied, but they succumbed once again 16 minutes from time with Isak this time the provider for Gordon, his goal surviving a lengthy VAR check unlike Bueno’s late consolation strike, which was ruled out for handball after a review amid a late flurry.
