Alexander Isak has hit the headlines after his outstanding assist for Jacob Murphy in Newcastle’s 4-1 win over Everton on Thursday.
The Sweden international dribbled his way past six Everton players in total before slamming the ball to the back post, where Murphy was waiting to tap in.
However, a number of fans – specifically those who had Isak in their Fantasy Premier League team – will have noticed that he didn’t officially get the assist, but why? Let’s take a look…
Why Isak did not officially get the assist for Newcastle
Well, this is incredibly harsh.
When the Newcastle No.14 eventually released the ball after making half of Everton’s side look amateurish, a slight deflection off James Tarkowski occurred which directed it into the path of Murphy.
As a result, Isak does not officially get the assist despite all of his hard work in creating the goal.
It is a rule which Wilfried Zaha also felt the full force of back in December 2017 when he slalomed his way past three Watford defenders in the 92nd minute, before cutting the ball back for James McArthur to score.
In that instance, the ball took a tiny nick before reaching the Scottish midfielder, meaning the Ivorian – like Isak – did not officially get the assist.
For those of you who do have the £63m Newcastle man in your Fantasy Premier League side, we feel for you.
It is a strange rule, in all honestly.
Murphy doesn’t score without Isak taking on the entire Everton backline, and surely the Premier League can still credit the Swede despite that small deflection off Tarkowski.
Nevertheless – aside from the official statistics – Isak is still receiving plenty of recognition for his efforts, with Gary Lineker even left stunned by what he saw from the Newcastle striker at Goodison Park on Thursday.
Isak profile
Full name: Alexander Isak
Age: 23
Height: 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)
Nationality: Sweden
Place of birth: Solna
Date of birth: 21st September 1999
Club: Newcastle United
Position: Striker
Transfer fee: £63m
Wages: £120,000-a-week
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