Newcastle moved up to seventh in the Premier League, and increased Ipswich’s relegation fears, with a 4-0 win at Portman Road.
Alexander Isak continued his impressive form with a hat-trick with Jacob Murphy also on the scoresheet.
It was convincing in the end, although the opening goal, after just 26 seconds, was controversial. Isak’s strike was initially disallowed for offside against Murphy in the build-up but VAR deemed the winger was onside despite replays proving inconclusive.
Murphy made it 2-0 after 32 minutes and Isak effectively ended the game as a contest in first-half injury time after some slapstick play at the back from the home side.
The Sweden international completed his treble nine minutes into the second period.
It’s back-to-back 4-0 victories for @NUFC in the Premier League, in a win that saw Alexander Isak score his first hat-trick for the club 🌟#IPSNEW pic.twitter.com/fPUH1kXXfN
— Premier League (@premierleague) December 21, 2024
Forest sting the Bees
Brentford saw their unbeaten home record come to an end with Nottingham Forest claiming a 2-0 win at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Ola Aina put the visitors in front after converting Neco Williams’ left-wing cross and Anthony Elanga doubled their lead at the start of the second period after robbing Keane Lewis-Potter and finishing well.
The win takes Forest up to third, although Arsenal can reclaim that spot with a draw at Crystal Palace in the tea-time game.
Kudus earns point for Hammers
West Ham and Brighton fought out a 1-1 draw at the London Stadium with Mohammed Kudus cancelling out Mats Wieffer’s opener.
Wieffer put the Seagulls in front after 51 minutes, driving home from the edge of the box after the Hammers failed to clear a corner.
But Kudus levelled matters seven minutes later, nodding over the line after Bart Verbruggen had parried Jarrod Bowen’s shot.
The lunchtime game saw Aston Villa heap more misery on Pep Guardiola and Manchester City with a 2-1 win.
Jhon Duran and Morgan Rogers scored for the hosts with Phil Foden replaying with a late consolation.
