Isak extends his good run to sink Wolves and take Newcastle into the top four | first division

Newcastle's sixth in a row first division This victory (and ninth in all competitions) lifted Eddie Howe's resurgent team to fourth place, as Alexander Isak demonstrated precisely why his coach believes he is as good a striker as any in the world at the moment.

Isak's 16th and 17th goals in a remarkable season pushed Wolves into the relegation zone, pushing them below fourth-bottom Ipswich on goal difference, but Vitor Pereira's side offered enough attacking threat to suggest survival It should be within your reach.

“It's quite an achievement for Alex, he has that extra second of composure that all the best forwards have,” Howe said. “But we weren't perfect. I don't think we're totally settled and I don't think the score was a fair reflection of the game. The Wolves are a good, difficult team and always had a goal threat. Martin Dubravka had to make some key saves. “There are many things we can be positive about, but a lot to improve.”

Pereira has managed nine clubs in seven countries since leaving Porto in 2013, but all that vast, eclectic experience ultimately failed to make the new (sort of) Wolves manager exploit the team's suddenly deadly, if currently latent, streak. Howe's irrepressible and seemingly unstoppable character. .

The Portuguese had told their players that Newcastle were “not supermen” and the visitors certainly started undauntedly with Gonçalo Guedes firing wide from eight yards after Sven Botman deflected Hwang Hee-Chan's cross into his path.

As the minutes passed and Isak's shot grazed the outside of a post, Pereira and his staff became increasingly angry with some of the referees. They looked in danger of imploding when Dan Burn escaped scot-free after bringing down Guedes and their mood barely improved when, in the 34th minute, fortune disapproved of the Wolves defence.

Isak's 16th goal in 23 appearances came thanks to a strong deflection that deflected an originally highly speculative shot from the edge of the area past a clueless José Sá. It means the Swedish forward joins an elite quartet of forwards (Jamie Vardy, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Daniel Sturridge are the other three) who have scored in eight consecutive Premier League games.

Wolves, however, continued to threaten on the counterattack and, at the end of one of those breaks, Jørgen Strand Larsen met a Rodrigo Gomes cross before brushing a shot against the post. Lewis Hall won't like seeing replays of Gomes rushing past him.

Pereira introduced Matheus Cunha at the start of the second half and a striker recently released from suspension looked eager to make up for lost time. However, despite Cunha, whose deft touch and insidious movement suggested he probably should have started, quickly stretching Botman and company to the limit, no one proved capable of stopping Isak from scoring his 12th goal in 10 games. It was a stellar pass from Bruno Guimarães that split the defense and a perfect turn by the Swede before the ball sailed past Sá.

Isak then showed his selfless side, his cross allowing Gordon's first-time shot to finally strip any remaining swagger from the Wolves' pace. As if to emphasize that this was not the visitors' night, Santiago Bueno scored a late 'goal' past Dubravka on a corner disallowed for handball following a VAR review before a goalkeeper celebrating his 36th birthday brilliantly saved. at the foot of Strand Larsen.

As home fans wondered whether Newcastle could make it 10 wins in a row against Bournemouth here on Saturday, Pereira was optimistic: “I'm very proud of my players, we had maybe six or seven chances to score against a strong, tall team. “A team of caliber with a quality striker,” he said. “We tried everything, but this is football.”