Alexander Isak reveals what was 'quite bad' about Newcastle United's 5-1 win vs Sheffield United

Alexander Isak was “very happy” with his afternoon’s work after scoring a brace in Newcastle United’s 5-1 win over Sheffield United.

The Swede netted his 22nd and 23rd goals of the 2023-24 campaign, continuing a run of scoring in seven consecutive home games. Isak is joint-second in the Premier League goal-scoring charts with 19 behind Chelsea’s Cole Palmer.

Isak equalised after Anel Ahmedhodzic’s opener before converting from the penalty spot to make it 3-1.

Goals from Bruno Guimaraes and Callum Wilson and Ben Osborn own goal saw Newcastle remain seventh in the Premier League, one point behind Manchester United, who were held 1-1 at home to Burnley.

“I'm very happy,” Isak told Premier League Productions after the match. “It was important for us to stay in the race for Europe. We got off to quite a bad start and needed one goal against us to wake up. The reaction was very good. The manager gave us a wake-up call at half-time.”

The only regret is Isak failed to claim a hat-trick, a feat that continues to evade the 24-year-old following his £63million move from Real Sociedad two years ago.

“Many of my penalties have been here at home. I tried to stay calm and focus on the moment. I was thinking I want a hat-trick. I haven't had one. Europe is still alive and we have to focus on ourselves and we'll see how it goes."

On Isak’s display, Newcastle boss Eddie Howe added: “It was a great ball from Jacob [Murphy], very tight for being offside but that’s the beauty and timing of his run, which is high level and the finish was hugely important for us in a moment where we were struggling to get a foothold in the game.

“And it was great to see Alex link up with Callum [Wilson] in the latter stages of the game. It was a really good day for both players.”