Newcastle were victorious over Nottingham Forest taking them to eighth in the Premier League table, sitting on 18 points after 11 games played. The Magpies have won five times, drawn three, and lost three, now just one point from the top four.
Murillo put Forest 1-0 up in the 23rd minute, with the hosts going in at half-time leading Newcastle at the City Ground. But second-half goals from Alexander Isak, Joelinton, and Harvey Barnes secured all three points for the visitors.
Newcastle eventually got what they deserved, having 56% possession, creating two big chances and taking 17 shots, generating 1.56xG, and getting their goals in the end. T
here were some top individual performances in this game, starting with the first Newcastle goalscorer, Isak.
Alexander Isak’s performance vs Forest
The 25-year-old looks back to his best now and his display on Sunday afternoon proved it.
The striker scored one and assisted one in Newcastle’s 3-1 victory over Forest, taking his tally to five goals in 11 appearances, along with two assists, totalling 918 minutes so far this season.
Alongside his goal, Isak took three shots in the game, managed 46 touches, made three key passes, and won two of his three aerial duels, putting in an excellent second-half performance to help guide the Magpies to victory after going behind in the first half.
But despite being a huge positive for Newcastle, especially in the second half of this game, there was another man who stole the headlines, achieving an 8/10 match rating from Shields Gazette.
Joelinton’s MOTM performance in numbers
The 28-year-old Brazilian has made 14 appearances already this season, being an ever-present figure in Eddie Howe’s side, scoring two goals across his 1,170 minutes played.
He was signed by the club back in 2019, joining from Hoffenheim for a club-record deal of around £40m. Joining as a striker, and now playing as more of a central midfielder for the Magpies, Joelinton has now played 198 games for the club, scoring 27 goals and providing 15 assists.
Joelinton vs Forest | |
|---|---|
Stat | Joelinton |
Minutes | 90 |
Goals | 1 |
Shots | 2 |
Touches | 69 |
Accurate Passes | 34/42 |
Key Passes | 1 |
Ground Duels Won | 6/10 |
Aerial Duels Won | 4/6 |
Tackles | 3 |
Stats taken from Sofascore | |
But on Sunday, the Brazilian started in a wide midfield position – not overly common for him – and battled hard with what was described as a “monumental” display from a “superstar” player by Toon reporter Andy Sixsmith.
He won six of his ten ground duels, alongside four of his six aerial duels, allowing Newcastle to win the ball back in dangerous areas and launch attacks quickly.
His three tackles, one interception and one clearance all came from playing in a more advanced wide role, showing his ability to do a job wherever he’s put, on both sides of the ball.
The 28-year-old scored the goal to put Newcastle 2-1 up, changing the game heavily in his side’s favour, picking the ball up on the edge of the area and then finding the back of the net in devastating fashion.
Isak was very impressive, but Joelinton deserved his Player of the Match award for his dynamic display, and Newcastle fans will be hoping he can continue to deliver many more performances of that standard.
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