Newcastle 4-3 Nottingham Forest: Isak reaches half-century as Magpies revive Champions League aspirations
A six-game winning streak between December and January had Newcastle on the brink of returning Champions League football to St. James’ Park.
However, their momentum faltered, resulting in a challenging period. Fortunately, they managed to turn things around with a dramatic 4-3 victory over fellow Premier League top-four contenders Nottingham Forest this afternoon.
FT: Newcastle 4-3 Nottingham Forest
The away side much better in the second-half, but Newcastle take the 3 points!#NEWNFO pic.twitter.com/5oErxX7C5E
— Squawka Live (@Squawka_Live) February 23, 2025
Before this match, the Magpies had experienced three losses in four games—more than in their previous twelve combined. During this rough stretch, they conceded four goals in two of those defeats, causing them to drop from fourth to seventh place. They are now three points behind the coveted fourth spot, while Forest, this season’s surprise package, sits in third despite also going through a tough patch recently.
One key moment to anticipate was a fast start. Callum Hudson-Odoi broke the deadlock with shot from outside the box, which came just six minutes into the game. Indeed, since the start of last season, he has scored more Premier League goals from outside the box than any other player, totalling seven. This also marked the 20th time this season that Nottingham Forest opened the scoring, which is more than any other club.
However, Forest’s lead quickly vanished in a two-minute span as Lewis Miley and Jacob Murphy turned the game around for Newcastle. Miley’s goal, at just 18 years old, was assisted by Lewis Hall, who is 20. This is the first time since January 2007 that Newcastle United has had a Premier League goal both scored and assisted by players aged 20 or younger—back then, David Edgar (who was 19) scored with assistance from James Milner (who was 20).
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The spotlight turned to Alexander Isak, who ended a two-game scoring drought by converting a penalty. This was a landmark moment, as he surpassed Freddie Ljungberg’s record of 48 goals to become the highest-scoring Swedish player in Premier League history. Following this achievement, he quickly added to his tally. Isak reached 50 goals in just 76 Premier League appearances, with only six players — Mohamed Salah (72), Fernando Torres (72), Ruud van Nistelrooy (68), Alan Shearer (66), Andrew Cole (65) and Erling Haaland (48) — in competition history hitting that tally faster.
Forest head coach Nuno Espírito Santo could only look on in disbelief as his team became only the sixth side in Premier League history to lead 1-0 but then trail by three or more goals at half-time. To go a little further: Newcastle’s xG of 2.92 against Forest today is the second-highest recorded this Premier League season for a first half, surpassed only by Arsenal’s xG of 3.27 against West Ham in November.
Just like in the first 45 minutes, it was Nottingham Forest who opened the lead after half-time when Nikola Milenkovic scored from close range, finishing a cross from Chris Wood that followed a corner. Since Christmas, only Salah (with 13 goals and assists) has been directly involved in more Premier League goals than Wood, who has contributed to 11 goals (eight goals and three assists). The second half saw significant improvement, with Forest attempting 155 passes in the opposition’s half, compared to only 76 for Newcastle, who inexplicably switched off as Ryan Yates brought the deficit back to one goal in the 90th minute.
This match perfectly illustrated the saying “a game of two halves.” Forest, who scored two goals from corners in a Premier League game for the first time since November 1998 against Derby County, could only lament their shortcomings in the first half as Newcastle moved levelled on points with fourth-place Manchester City before their highly anticipated clash with Liverpool. Meanwhile, Forest, who are set to face second-place Arsenal next, suffered a second consecutive loss. Despite being in third place, they are only three points ahead of Newcastle with 12 matches remaining, making this upcoming run-in even more intriguing.
