Alexander Isak scored his 18th and 19th goals of the season for Newcastle United in a 3-1 victory over Southampton on Saturday.
After Jan Bednarek put Southampton ahead, Isak quickly doubled Newcastle’s lead before Sandro Tonali made it 3-1 in the second half. With his brace, Isak moved ahead of Callum Wilson to become Newcastle’s all-time highest Premier League striker, trailing only Alan Shearer.
Despite having 48 Premier League goals, Isak is still 100 goals behind Shearer in the top flight.
Nonetheless, Shearer was quick to applaud the striker on social media when he scored his second goal at St Mary’s.
“Oh man, that touch and finish from Isak,” wrote Shearer on X.
Newcastle United’s official account then wrote, “YOU CAN’T STOP ALEXANDER ISAK!”
Shearer quote-tweeted the piece, giving Isak his approval once more by using the ‘clapping emoji’ instead of any words.
Isak has 19 goals in 25 games this season, putting him on track to match Shearer’s 21st-century Newcastle record of 28 goals in a single season. Isak, like Shearer, joined Newcastle for a club record transfer cost and has been in top form for the previous two seasons.
“I think naturally the goals have started to come,” Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe remarked of Isak. “I believe there was no dispute about his skill. When I saw him play for [Real] Sociedad last season, he didn’t score many goals.
“But I could see from his overall play that he was an amazing footballer. So the only question was: Could he score again? Because he had scored a lot the previous season.
“I believe he’s been a consistent scorer for us since the beginning, which has undoubtedly boosted his confidence. His general confidence when he approaches the pitch appears to be very high right now, which is not always the case.
“You must acquire that through your training. He has been terrific this year, but I believe the task for him is to continue to improve.”
Newcastle face Fulham at St James’ Park in the Premier League on Saturday (3pm kick-off). Following that, they visit Arsenal in the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg at St James’ Park, hoping to advance with a 2-0 advantage from the away game.
