Alexander Isak of Newcastle United has been a star this season when healthy. With intense agility, physical stature and ball-handling skills, his play has trusted the offense forward with newfound confidence.
On Friday, March 17, Newcastle took on Nottingham Forest and Isak was the key repeating factor for the Magpies as they secured three points.
After Isak shined against Wolves, before being removed from the contest in the second half, the fans were concerned that the substitution of Isak was that he was out of shape. Fortunately, manager Eddie Howe backed up Isak and discussed that he was recovering after a lengthy injury and still getting up to speed with the required intensity of Newcastle’s attack.
To start the contest against Forest, both squads looked flat-footed outside of a few small opportunities on the offensive side of things. The Magpies had a nice shot and cross within the first five minutes, and Forest had one key moment where they almost found the opening goal in the 12th minute.
With both teams knocking on the door, Forest would be the first team to open the game up with Emmanuel Dennis finding the back of the net.
Newcastle’s goalkeeper found himself off of his line awkwardly, and Dennis was easily able to slash the ball just over him and into the goal.
Just before halftime, the Sweden national Isak was able to find the tieing goal against Forest as he received a nice cross from midfielder Joe Willock before acrobatically drilling the ball into the right corner.
Heading into the second half with the score sitting at one’s, both teams sputtered and little came from the next 45 minutes.
However, with extra time added onto the clock, the Magpies would get fouled inside the box.
Originally, it looked like captain Kieran Trippier would be the one taking the shot, but he would hand the ball off to Isak, who placed the ball into the top right corner for the win.
With the win, they improved their record to 12-11-3 on the season, keeping themselves top 5 in the Premier League.
“Confidence is key for any attacking player. The penalty was ice cool,” Howe said. “It was a top, top performance. He was a constant handful for Forest. His pace and trickery were evident.”
With players such as Miguel Almiron and Isak finding form late in the season, team confidence has to be at a high as the team attempts to remain top five in the Premier League table.