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Tuesday Trivia is a weekly column that presents relevant sporting facts. This week's edition considers Alexander Isak’s goalscoring numbers in this campaign's Premier League.
Newcastle United’s 6-1 beatdown of Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday was jarring because of the final score and the difference in class between the two sides on the day.
The Magpies scored five times in the opening 21 minutes of the game, tearing Spurs apart with nonstop ease over that period, with the visitors’ gameplan undone before it got off the ground.
Alexander Isak found the back of the net twice in the rout of the North London side, taking him to double figures in his debut Premier League season.
His goals in recent weeks have helped to restore faith in a possible Champions League involvement next season after the team’s dry spell post-World Cup threatened to scupper that ambition.
It was just what the doctor ordered for Eddie Howe’s men, who fell 3-0 at in-form Aston Villa the previous week, thus opening a six-point lead over Tottenham in fifth, who have played a game more than the Magpies.
As for Isak, 10 goals in year one in the English top flight is commendable, especially considering the Sweden international missed a chunk of the season through injury.
The 23-year-old’s current tally is still three shy of 13 goals in the Eredivisie with Willem II in 2018-19 and seven adrift of 17 strikes with Real Sociedad in 2020-21, but that does not diminish this term’s return.
No Newcastle player has scored double figures in their opening 15 Premier League appearances since Papiss Cisse netted 13 times in 2012, further adding a layer of context to the former Sociedad attacker.
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16:03 - 23.04.2023
Newcastle wreck Tottenham’s top four hopes in demolition defeat
Newcastle scored four goals in the first 20 minutes to humiliate Tottenham and go above Manchester United in the Premier League table
Here are some numbers typifying the forward’s maiden Premier League campaign.
Impressive Isak
- 11 – Isak’s impressive return from 15 games has come in just 11 starts.
- 2 – Two of the young forward’s goals have come from the spot. The Swede has converted both penalties taken at Newcastle.
- 7.1 – Isak has scored 10 league goals from Expected Goals (xG) of 7.1, indicating some overperformance for the summer arrival.
- 5.6 – The forward’s non-penalty Expected Goals.
- 0.93 – After the weekend’s brace, Isak’s goals scored per 90 is 0.93. For context, this betters every season in the forward’s career, including prolific campaigns with Willem (0.86) and Sociedad (0.65).
- 0.66 – The Newcastle man’s current Expected Goals per 90 this term is higher than all but one season since he moved to Borussia Dortmund as a teenage prodigy in January 2017. Only in 18-19 with Willem (0.77) did Isak’s xG per 90 surpass this year.
- 0.52 – Isak’s non-penalty Expected Goals per 90 with the Magpies this term. Interestingly, this ranks third below the forward’s 17-goal campaign with Sociedad (0.61) and in 2017-18 at Dortmund (0.56), albeit after one start in five appearances, and outranks the year in the Eredivisie (0.51).
- 2.9 – Isak has scored 10 Premier League goals from xG of 7.1, indicating an overperformance of 2.9. Fascinatingly, this outdoes every campaign, including the 13-goal year at Willem and 20-21 when he found the back of the net 17 times.
- 3.15 – Isak’s shots per 90 average this term outdoes all but two seasons, the half-year at Dortmund (3.85) and the year-long loan at Willem II (3.29).
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- 1.86 – The forward’s shots on target per 90 average outranks every Isak season, with only the Eredivisie loan (1.78) coming close.
- 58.8% - Nearly 60 percent of Isak’s shots in 2022-23 have been on target. 58.8 percent interestingly surpasses the forward’s previous best — 54 percent in the year at Dutch side Willem.
- 97 – Isak has found the back of the net every 97 minutes in his debut campaign in the English top flight. Only Erling Haaland, whose scoring frequency is a goal every 70 minutes, betters the Swede’s rate.
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21:27 - 23.04.2023
PREMIER LEAGUE Team of Week 32: Irrepressible Isak, resurgent Saka, decisive Jota and creative Alexander-Arnold star
Following every round of Premier League fixtures, Pulse Sports presents the most impressive performers of the matchday.
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