Alexander Isak has hit back at Erik ten Hag's claims that Newcastle United like to time-waste by pointing out that his Manchester United side tried and failed to do just that themselves.
The United manager had criticised Newcastle's tactical approach in the build up to their match at St. James' Park over the weekend, but instead it was his side that looked to run down the clock during the match.
Newcastle were by far the better side and thoroughly deserved their 2-0 win, creating 22 attempts in the game compared with United's six.
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After the match, Isak was quizzed on Ten Hag's comments and was delighted to win while playing in such an expansive style of play.
"I don't really agree with that," he told reporters after the win. "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."
Newcastle were much better than their Carabao Cup final performance two months ago, but Isak played down the element of revenge, given they failed to win silverware.
He added: "No. I would not say that, they still got the cup. We wanted that cup and didn't get it. But this win was very important because Manchester United are a direct rival for us in the table, so it’s nicer to get the three points for ourselves.
“It was a massive, massive win, a big confidence boost for us and massive also for the table for the Champions League hunt.”
Newcastle leapfrogged United in the table with a victory on Sunday afternoon, and Isak insists that his side are very much in control of their own destiny for a top-four finish.
He continued: “We’ve shown during the whole season what we’re capable of, so nothing special. But it was a massive step in the right direction for our goal.
“Hopefully, we can use this win as a boost. We won’t talk too much about it. We will just take one game at time and get the results we need.”
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