Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak's half-time substitution against Wolves left football fans scratching their heads.
Isak was amongst the goals last season but he is yet to catch fire this campaign. And his barren run continued on Sunday as he failed to find the net in the first period.
That became the least of Isak's worries when a clearance caught him in the face shortly before the interval. The 24-year-old's nose started bleeding and Newcastle medics were unable to stop it during the 15-minute break.
The Swede would have been one of Eddie Howe's prime candidates to claw the Magpies back into the game after Mario Lemina's opener at Molineux.
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But Howe was forced into an unorthodox switch-up, with Anthony Gordon moving into an unfamiliar centre-forward position and Harvey Barnes coming on to take his place out wide.
Barnes was part of a triple change in which Sandro Tonali and Joe Willock replaced Joelinton and Sean Longstaff, with Howe desperately looking for a way back into the game in the West Midlands as his side trailed 1-0.
And despite Isak's withdrawal initially coming as a blow, the changes paid dividends. Magpies fans had to be patient but two goals in five minutes from Fabian Schar and Barnes flipped the game on its head and left Wolves licking the wounds of a 2-1 defeat.
Isak has been a smash hit since completing a £63million move from Real Sociedad in 2022. That fee obliterated Newcastle's transfer record at the time, and he immediately repaid their faith by hitting double figures in an injury-hit first season.
The former Borussia Dortmund star fared even better last campaign, when he managed to stay fit virtually throughout and racked up 25 goals in all competitions. Only Erling Haaland and Cole Palmer bettered his tally of 21 in the Premier League.
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In Isak, Howe believes Newcastle have their hands on one of the planet's best strikers. "I think he is world class, yes," he said earlier this year.
"For me, I think the biggest thing is, would I swap him with anybody else? No, I wouldn’t. When you look at his age profile and what’s to come, you look at his attributes and his qualities, he’s some talent. I think we should just enjoy his performances. He's full of confidence and it's a great thing to watch him play."
