Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak says what everyone is thinking about Manchester United

Newcastle moved ahead of Man United and up to third in the table with second half goals from Joe Willock and Callum Wilson securing a third straight Premier League win. While Isak’s goalscoring run ended, he played a key role in Willock’s opener and saw a close-range header saved by David De Gea in the first half.

Overall, The Magpies dominated the match and Isak was full of praise for his side’s performance.

“This was the best [performance] I’ve been involved in here,” the 23-year-old told The Gazette. “Obviously I’m not really sure about all of the performances this season!

“I should have scored, it was a good save but I don’t really think too much about that after the win.

"That's football sometimes. We all felt that we could have gone in at half-time with a 2-0 lead or even more.

"But we said at half-time as long as we create chances eventually the ball will go on if we stay positive and keep going. My goal is simply to be part of a winning side."

The match came just 35 days after Newcastle were beaten 2-0 by Man United in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley Stadium. And when asked if it was any consolation to reverse the scoreline on Sunday, Isak responded: “No. I would not say that, they still got the cup. We wanted that cup and didn't get it.

"This win was still important. They are a direct rival for us in the table. It was nice to get the three points.”

Ahead of the game, plenty was made about Newcastle’s game management with Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag doubling down on his ‘annoying’ comments made ahead of the Carabao Cup final by stating Eddie Howe’s side ‘delay’ matches.

But Isak felt Newcastle did their talking on the pitch, saying: "I don't really agree with that [time-wasting comment]. We worked with intensity and we were the team that wanted to win.

"We were the team that wanted to bring the game forward. They wasted more time than us. I don't put too much focus on that. I think we put in a great performance."

With 11 games remaining, Newcastle’s fate is in their own hands as far as Champions League qualification is concerned. The Magpies are hoping to reach Europe’s elite club competition for the first time in 20 years.

But the ‘one game at a time’ message rings true with the Newcastle squad not getting carried away.

"Hopefully [we can get top four], we can use this win as a boost,” Isak added. "We won't talk too much about it.

"We will just talk one game at a time. And get the results we need."

Sunday’s match marked a third successive start for Isak and his longest run of starts since returning from injury.

"I feel 100%,” he admitted. “You can always get fitter but I wouldn't say there are any issues with me.”