Alexander Isak's revealing look at Newcastle United as Allan Saint-Maximin's brilliance claims point

No Callum Wilson, no Bruno Guimaraes, no Alexander Isak. No problem for Newcastle United.
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Eddie Howe was without Wilson and Guimaraes, two of his most influential players, at Molineux. And he also couldn’t call upon new signing Alexander Isak, who had to watch the game from the directors’ box.

And Newcastle, not surprisingly, lacked a cutting edge up front against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

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Yet Howe’s team left the stadium with a hard-fought point from a 1-1 draw thanks to a stunning late goal from Allan Saint-Maximin, who has starred in last weekend’s 3-3 draw against Manchester City. The strike means the club is now unbeaten in five league and cup games this season.

Newcastle’s 3,000-strong travelling support had hoped to get their first sight of new signing Isak, who had joined the club on Friday in a record £60million deal.

They saw Isak on the pitch – the striker was at Molineux with his team-mates – but not in the club’s new white and green Saudi Arabia-inspired third strip, which was worn for the first time by the players.

Isak was unavailable as he was still waiting for international clearance following his move from Real Sociedad, and the 22-year-old watched the game from the Billy Wright Stand along with co-owners Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi and new chief executive officer Darren Eales.

Allan Saint-Maximin celebrates his equaliser.Allan Saint-Maximin celebrates his equaliser.
Allan Saint-Maximin celebrates his equaliser.
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Howe, already the without injured Wilson, also lost midfielder Guimaraes to a “niggle” in the week, and United’s head coach brought Sean Longstaff and Chris Wood into his starting XI.

Wolves made a bright start, but Newcastle had the best chance of the opening exchanges. Joe Willock seized on a loose ball in the box after Longstaff, making his 100th appearance for the club, had had his shirt pulled in the area, but the midfielder somehow shot just wide from close range.

Newcastle had a good 10-minute spell, but, significantly, they didn’t test Jose Sa, and they had a let-off midway through when Matheus Nunes headed wide after losing his marker.

Wolves pushed more late in the half, and their breakthrough came in the 38th minute. After a patient build-up involving players on both wings, the ball was rolled to Ruben Neves almost 25 yards from goal.

Joe Willock put a first-half shot wide.Joe Willock put a first-half shot wide.
Joe Willock put a first-half shot wide.
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Neves wasn’t closed down quickly enough, and he struck a low shot which squeezed between Nick Pope’s outstretched right hand and the left-hand post.

Fabian Schar caught Pedro Neto with a late challenge after the break, but the defender escaped a red card after a VAR check.

Newcastle struggled to create openings, and Howe sent on Ryan Fraser and Matt Targett in place of of Chris Wood and Dan Burn in the 65th minute.

United didn’t look like scoring, and Elliot Anderson and Jacob Murphy followed them on to the pitch after Raul Jimenez had a goal disallowed for a foul on Ryan Fraser following a VAR check.

New signing Alesxaner Isak at Molineux.New signing Alesxaner Isak at Molineux.
New signing Alesxaner Isak at Molineux.
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And Newcastle themselves soon found the net. Saint-Maximin levelled with a stunning first-time volley after an attempted clearance from a Jacob Murphy cross dropped for him.

Howe’s side pushed for a winner in added time, and Saint-Maximin forced a late save from Sa.

United, on this evidence, will only get stronger this season.