To me, to you: Murphy and Isak are the Premier League’s most dangerous duo

Newcastle returned to winning ways this weekend following a rare blip against Bournemouth last Saturday, where they were stunned and well-beaten by the Cherries on home soil.

A visit to the division’s bottom club was the perfect opportunity to bounce back after such a disappointing display, and that is exactly what transpired on the south coast – despite a nervy start which saw the Saints take an unexpected lead at St. Mary’s through defender Jan Bednarek. 

The Poland international found himself unmarked in the box and cannoned home a bullet header in the 10th minute, but it was a short-lived lead for Ivan Jurić’s strugglers. 16 minutes later, the Magpies drew level when Joe Aribo brought down Alexander Isak in the box and the Swede, as he often does, converted effortlessly from the spot. 

Few would have been more frustrated with last weekend’s thumping at the hands of Bournemouth than Isak. The 25-year-old had been in scintillating form prior to the clash, scoring 11 goals in his last eight games, but was kept quiet by a resilient defence who managed to stifle his creative capabilities. The mark of a top footballer is how they react to an underwhelming performance, however, and having found the net with a cool-as-you-like penalty, any shred of self-doubt was duly eradicated. Terrible news for Southampton.

With his confidence brought back to boiling point, Isak made it two just four minutes after his opener in Hampshire. A sumptuous through-ball from Jacob Murphy completely split open the host’s defence and Isak’s first touch was a thing of beauty; Thierry Henry-esque in nature. It was as if his left boot was magnetic and the ball was formed by metal. First touch – into space and away from the defender – goal. If the touch resembled that of a prime Henry’s, the finish was an absolute carbon copy of the Arsenal legend’s trademark move, finessed so accurately and delicately into the far corner of the net. 

The assist should not be underplayed, either. Josh Murphy has enjoyed somewhat of a renaissance at Newcastle under Eddie Howe and has been one of the most effective players in the Premier League this season. Saturday’s second goal was the sixth time the 29-year-old has assisted Isak this term, with the duo linking up to find the net a total of seven times – no pairing have combined more. 

Isak’s goals against Southampton were the 47th and 48th he has scored for Newcastle in the top-flight since he made the move to the north east from Real Sociedad in 2022, making him the second-highest Premier League goalscorer for the club after Alan Shearer. Of those finishes, Murphy has been the provider for eight. 

With 17 goals to his name this season, the dynamic striker now sits just two behind Mohamed Salah (19) and one behind Erling Haaland (18) in the PL top-scorer chart after 23 games, however he has played two games fewer than Salah and one game less than Haaland (21). Isak is three clear of Chelsea’s Cole Palmer, Brentford’s Bryan Mbeuemo and Nottingham Forest’s Chris Wood (each on 14) at the time of writing. 

As for Murphy, he finds himself in extremely good company towards the upper echelons of the assists table. The Englishman has eight to his name so far, five behind leader Mo Salah. The gap between the second-highest assist-provider – Bukayo Saka (10) – is only two, while he is just one shy of Fulham wing-back Antonee Robinson (9) and level with Brentford midfielder Mikkel Damsgaard (8). 

Newcastle are firmly in the mix for a top four finish, too. The Magpies (41 pts, +14 GD) sit fifth in the table, level on points with fourth-placed Manchester City (41 pts, +17 GD) and behind on goal difference. Eddie Howe’s side trail third-placed Nottingham Forest by three points but possess a much better goal difference, while they are just six points behind second-placed Arsenal with just under half a season left to run.

A Champions League return will be the main objective for Newcastle, and should Murphy and Isak retain this level of telepathy and dynamism, you certainly have to feel confident in their chances of securing it.