Newcastle boss Eddie Howe believes Alexander Isak produced his “best performance of the season” in Wednesday’s thrilling 3-3 draw with Liverpool.

There had been a doubt over whether the Sweden forward would play, having picked up an injury recently, but Howe and Magpies fans will be glad he did.

Isak fired Newcastle into a first-half lead with a thunderous finish, saw another goal disallowed for offside and had strong penalty appeals waved away.

Asked about the 25-year-old’s contribution to an eventful night at St James’ Park against the Premier League leaders, Howe said: “I think it was Alex’s best performance of the season for us.

“First of all, let’s take his goal. It was a goal out of nothing for us and this season we’ve missed those.

“Last season, he regularly scored goals that he was probably not expected to score, and those moments of magic can swing games your way, and that was a massive step towards doing that.

“He was elusive, difficult to mark and difficult to pick up and was popping up all over the place. He’s a great dribbler so it was great to see those qualities back in his game and I just thought it was a top performance from him.”

Isak’s strike in the 35th minute from 22 yards out set the tone for an exciting match that saw Newcastle – who had failed to muster a single attempt on goal at Crystal Palace at the weekend – rediscover their finishing in front of goal.

Howe added: “It’s great to have one of those moments from Alex because those moments of quality, he does possess and he’s delivered them consistently for us – maybe not so much this season, those strikes from distance, but he’s more than capable of doing that and that’s why he can make the difference for us.”