Alexander Isak inspired Newcastle United to a historic 3-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Wednesday night.
This Premier League triumph was Newcastle’s ninth consecutive win in all competitions, a feat achieved only twice and never bettered in the club’s 144-year history.
Rafa Benitez only came close to double figures in one game during Newcastle’s outstanding 2016/17 Championship campaign. The only previous precedent for such a prolific winning streak in the top flight was Kevin Keegan’s glorious reign. After winning the final game of the 1993/94 season, the club’s legendary team started the new season with eight consecutive wins.
Andrew Cole’s prolific figure scored eight goals for Keegan’s first version of the Entertainers. Alexander Isak has surpassed his legendary predecessor, scoring ten goals in this nine-game winning streak for the Magpies.
The Swede, who looks increasingly worthy of his lofty £150million valuation, gave Newcastle the lead just after the half-hour and made Wolves’ visit to St James’ Park the eighth consecutive top-flight game in which Isak scored. Only three other players in Premier League history have achieved this goal streak (Jamie Vardy, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Daniel Sturridge).
Isak doubled the hosts’ lead after the break and had the chance to complete his hat-trick, but after his first attempt was blocked, the in-form striker selflessly laid a pass to Anthony Gordon to make it 3-0 in the 74th minute.
While Howe has joined a pantheon of Newcastle icons, he is never one to give in to hyperbole. Which – based on some of the verbal knots Keegan and Benitez have tied – may not be a bad thing. “We are at a pivotal moment where this could lead to something different. “So I would like to urge my players and myself to ignore everything and focus on the next thing,” the manager warned before the midweek win.
The win saw Newcastle overtake Chelsea and finish in the top four of the Premier League, just three points behind Nottingham Forest in third place. “I think anything is possible for us,” Howe reluctantly admitted earlier this week. “I said the same thing last season and the season before that.
“There is never a limit to what we can achieve. The only upper limit is what we might put in our own way. This is an important point. I don’t think we can try to get in our own way.”