Ipswich 0 Newcastle 4 – Isak’s hat-trick, Murphy’s magic and is Howe’s team back?

Alexander Isak scored a hat-trick as Newcastle United beat Ipswich Town 4-0 at Portman Road to secure their third comfortable win in seven days.

Eddie Howe’s side, which beat Leicester City 4-0 a week ago and Brentford 3-1 in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday, took the lead with just 26 seconds left on Isak’s first play of the afternoon.

Jacob Murphy’s purple patch continued as he scored Newcastle’s second, his third goal in as many games, while also providing a superb backheel assist Isak as he completed his triple at the start of the second half.

Chris Waugh breaks down the key talking points from Newcastle’s stunning triumph.

A quick start, a slow VAR check and a gift-wrapped goal

Ipswich started the kick-off but the ball ended up in their own net within just 26 seconds. Newcastle took a throw-in from the left-back position, Fabian Schar threw a ball forward to bring Murphy in on the right, he crossed, Sam Morsy only half cleared and Isak fired a finish into the ground and on Goalkeeper Arijanet Muric passes.

The on-field decision was ruled offside, ruled by Natalie Aspinall, the assistant referee, with Murphy assuming he had gone early, but he had actually timed his run perfectly and Cameron Burgess had played it just offside. So marginal, in fact, that it took VAR official John Brooks about three minutes to score the goal. However, why it took so long is currently unclear.

#IPSNEW – 1′ VAR OVERTURN

Isak’s goal was disallowed due to offside on the pitch. The VAR checked and determined that Murphy was in an offside position in the build-up and recommended the goal be given. pic.twitter.com/pS9luT4pUj

— Premier League Match Center (@PLMatchCentre) December 21, 2024

If the Portman Road crowd were upset by the referees over the first goal and chanted “F**k VAR” despite the technology ultimately This brought about the right decision – they were upset with their own players when Newcastle’s third goal decided the game in first-half stoppage time.

Muric received a back pass from Dara O’Shea and very naively played a softball forward to Jens Cajuste. The retreating midfielder didn’t realize Bruno Guimaraes had been tracking him as part of Newcastle’s aggressive man-to-man marking strategy, and the Brazilian got a toe in to flick the ball to Isak.

The Swedish international accepted this gift-wrapped Christmas present four days early, coolly sat Muric down and shot into the net. It all looked way too easy.

Say hello to another hot streak from Jacob Murphy

There is a uniqueness to Murphy that is difficult to adequately encapsulate.

He’s ridiculously inconsistent, usually within the same game, and has never really established himself as Newcastle’s right-sided striker. Nevertheless, the 29-year-old is a highly valued member of Howe’s squad. The head coach trusts him to carry out defensive instructions conscientiously and to rain crosses into the penalty area. These performances are sometimes exquisite, sometimes wayward, but they increase Newcastle’s chances of scoring.

Murphy ignored the possibility of potentially being offside to score the opening goal, proving once again that few Newcastle players can hit a ball so well when he gets it right. When he was picked up by Anthony Gordon on the right side of the penalty area, he fired an unstoppable shot which, before he could see it, went past Muric and crashed over the underside of the crossbar.

Jacob Murphy – a man in form (Michael Regan/Getty Images)

His assist for Isak’s hat-trick goal was beyond magnificent. Facing the right touchline inside the penalty area, Murphy backheeled the ball, taking three Ipswich defenders out of play.

That was Murphy’s sixth goal contribution in his last three top-flight games – and that number doesn’t even take into account his involvement in today’s first game.

The winger is becoming increasingly known for his strong performances. In April 2023, he scored three goals and assisted one in five Premier League games, including being involved in two goals in the 1-6 win against Tottenham Hotspur. Then, in the last five top-flight games of last season, Murphy scored four goals and scored once.

Newcastle’s priority is a right winger in the upcoming January transfer window, but if Murphy can maintain this form then perhaps the club can afford to wait a little longer to tackle a position they have wanted to strengthen since the takeover was completed before more than three years.

Is the real Newcastle back?

It was a massive, potentially season-defining week for Newcastle – and they handled it skillfully. Actually, things couldn’t have gone better.

After a goal-shy period have took 11 of those in just over two and a half games, kept two clean sheets, secured three wins, reached the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup and rose from 12th to seventh in the Premier League, just two points behind fifth-placed Aston villa and with a better goal difference.

Suddenly all areas of the team are working well again. The defense looks solid, with left-back Lewis Hall continuing to improve at an alarming rate. Sandro Tonali’s intelligence on and off the ball as the nominal number 6 has changed the look of the midfield, with the Italian midfielder linking up and switching with Guimaraes superbly.

He made 85 appearances at the helm, but Isak also managed a hat-trick for Newcastle. This brings his tally to 46 for the club, 23 of which came in the top flight in 2024. Only Alan Shearer (27 in 2002) and Andy Cole (24 in 1994) have scored more Premier League goals for Newcastle in a calendar year – and the Swede still has two more games left.

Isak celebrates the first goal of his Ipswich hat-trick (Paul Harding/Getty Images)

The shocking reality is that Isak should have completed his hat-trick much earlier and missed a simple one-on-one. Nevertheless, he has scored nine goals and set up three more in his last nine league games.

Perhaps it is premature to welcome a return of the Newcastle team we have seen for much of the last two seasons, considering they went on a three-game winning streak before the November international break and then went berserk again. However, confidence has been restored and it will be a far happier Christmas on Tyneside than it looked before the Leicester game a week ago.

The positive momentum is definitely increasing.

What did Eddie Howe say?

We will let you know after he speaks at the post-match press conference.

What’s next for Newcastle United?

Thursday, December 26th: Aston Villa (H), Premier League, 3:00 p.m. GMT, 10:00 a.m. ET

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(Top photo: Michael Regan/Getty Images)