December saw the hectic end to another calendar year of action, and while there is so much action to pick through from the last month, we have seen some hugely impressive runs of form from some key players across the league, who ended the year in style.

This months NextGoalWinner player of the month winner is a goal scorer who has had a perfect league month, scoring in all 6 of his Premier League outings, including a hattrick and contributing to 5 out of 7 wins across all competitions. With a key month of action as his club look to push for a Champions League spot, this player has been pivotal throughout the Christmas period.

Alexander Isak has played a pivotal role in Newcastle’s strong month of action, with a big run of points giving Eddie Howe’s side a huge boost in their quest for European football, while their Carabao Cup win has allowed fans to dream of ending their trophy drought. With a superb month of action and consistent goals, his 8 goals and 2 assists across the 6 Premier League games make him more than worthy of player of the month.

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Match By Match

December 4th: Newcastle United 3-3 Liverpool – Starting off the month in hectic fashion, Newcastle faced a tricky tie against league leaders Liverpool, but as Isak opened the scoring in the 35th minute, it was Liverpool who played chaser as the game swung back and forth throughout. With 6 goals split across the 2 sides, it proved to be an entertaining midweek clash with neither team getting the upper hand. As Isak opened the scoring and turned provider for the second as he assisted Gordon to make it 2-1, Isak put in a real effort as he completed the most dribbles (5) and created the most chances (5) as he put in an 8.7/10 FotMob rated performance, outdone only by the world beating Mo Salah.

December 7th: Brentford 4-2 Newcastle United – After their back and forth clash with Liverpool 3 days earlier, Newcastle had their only real slip-up for the month as they were beaten by Brentford. Newcastle were on the back foot early, as Isak’s 11th minute goal cancelled out Mbeumo’s even earlier opening strike, and then Barne’s goal in the 32nd minute followed the Wissa goal in the 28th minute. As the game calmed into the second half, it was Brentford who pushed on and claimed the victory with 2 second half strikes which proved to be Newcastle’s only defeat of the month. Despite the defeat, Isak continued his scoring start to December and received a team-high 8.0/10 FotMob rating for his work.

December 14th: Newcastle United 4-0 Leicester City – Getting Newcastle onto their winning path, they had a week to shake off the Brentford loss and Liverpool chaos, as they hosted a struggling Leicester City side who showed little against the impressive Newcastle attack. Isak got on the scoresheet for the 3rd straight game as his goal in the 50th minute put his side 3 up and out of reach shortly after the break. Setting up the 4th shortly after, Isak put in a strong showing as he also completed the most dribbles (6) and earnt a man of the match winning 9.0/10 FotMob rating.

December 21st: Ipswich Town 0-4 Newcastle United – Coming off their impressive Carabao Cup victory over Brentford which saw Newcastle take revenge for their league loss less than 2 weeks earlier, in which Isak produced his only appearance of the month without a goal, he returned to league action in style, as his terrific hattrick gave Newcastle a comprehensive victory on the road against struggling Ipswich Town. Although against a team battling in the relegation zone, Newcastle avoided any slip-ups and really showed their dominance as Isak opened the scoring in a matter of seconds from kick-off. He added his second just before the half-time break and then rounded off his hattrick in the 54th minute. Being withdrawn in the 73rd minute following his impressive run, he earnt himself a 9.7/10 FotMob rating for his efforts as he managed 100% shot accuracy, 100% cross accuracy and 3 goals from an individual xG of 1.53. A perfect showing to continue his league scoring run.

December 26th: Newcastle United 3-0 Aston Villa – Continuing to push teams aside in the league, Newcastle showed no fatigue from the Christmas celebrations, as they opened the scoring in just 2 minutes against Aston Villa. With Duran’s red card giving their visitors an even bigger task to come back into the game, Newcastle could push on as Isak added the second on the 59th minute, and Joelinton rounded off the win with the final goal in stoppage time. With his 7th goal of the month, Isak created the most chances in the game (4), won 100% of his aerial duels and put in a shift as he lead the line for Newcastle showing no let-up for the remaining games of the year, despite the busy schedule.

December 30th: Manchester United 0-2 Newcastle United – Rounding off a hugely impressive month and year for Newcastle United, Isak got things going at Old Trafford in just 4 minutes. With Manchester United looking hugely off the boil, Newcastle made them pay as Isak opened the scoring, and teammate Joelinton scored the second just 15 minutes later. With a confident and dominant first half showing, they were able to wither any risk of a comeback to finish the year in style. With the opening goals and the most dribbles, Isak’s 8.1/10 FotMob rating was another strong showing as he rounded off his December tally with 8 goals and 2 assists, along with extending his league scoring run to 6 games.