Alexander Isak scored a hat-trick as Newcastle United delivered a dominant 4-0 victory over Ipswich Town, who are still searching for their first home league win of the season.
The visitors wasted no time, taking just 26 seconds to open the scoring after Ipswich’s kick-off. The ball was quickly sent out for a throw-in, and Fabian Schar’s long pass found Jacob Murphy, whose cross ricocheted off Sam Morsy’s heel. Isak was in the right place to fire the loose ball into the net. Although the goal was initially ruled offside, a lengthy VAR review confirmed it.
Murphy, who had an impressive game, doubled the lead with a shot off the underside of the crossbar, set up by Anthony Gordon. Ipswich’s hopes of securing a home win were dashed just before half-time when Bruno Guimaraes intercepted a poor pass from goalkeeper Arijanet Muric to Jens Cajuste, allowing Isak to score his second.
Isak completed his hat-trick early in the second half, poking home into the bottom corner after another strong assist from Murphy.
The win capped a fantastic week for Newcastle, who had already defeated Leicester City 4-0 and advanced to the Carabao Cup semi-finals with a 3-1 victory over Brentford. Isak’s hat-trick brings his Premier League tally to 10 goals, just three behind league leaders Mohamed Salah and Erling Haaland, who are both on 13.
Ipswich, who had secured only their second win of the season with a late 2-1 victory over Wolves, were thoroughly outclassed in this match. Despite a few near-misses, including a free header from Gordon that went over, Newcastle could have easily added more goals. Isak also wasted a one-on-one chance before his second goal, which effectively ended the contest.
Ipswich, missing top scorer Liam Delap due to suspension, created very few chances and rarely tested goalkeeper Martin Dubravka. The hosts’ only notable attempts were from Cajuste, Sammie Szmodics, and Ali Al-Hamadi, who all fired over the bar. The result leaves Ipswich with tough fixtures ahead, including matches against Arsenal and Chelsea.
For Newcastle, it was one of their easiest wins of the season as they look to bounce back from missing out on European qualification.
Player of the Match: A. Isak