Newcastle United player ratings v Nottingham Forest: 'Frustrating' 4/10 & 'sublime' Sandro Tonali in 2-0 win
Newcastle United 2-0 Nottingham Forest player ratings: Here’s how Sandro Tonali, Nick Woltemade, Anthony Gordon and co fared.
Newcastle United beat Nottingham Forest 2-0 at St James’ Park this afternoon - here are the player ratings from the match.
Eddie Howe named an unchanged Newcastle line-up from the 4-0 Champions League win at Union Saint-Gilloise on Wednesday night. Anthony Elanga started against his former club while Dan Burn kept his place at left-back with Lewis Hall dropping out of the squad due to a hamstring issue.
The Magpies went into the game looking for only their second Premier League win of the season, having suffered late defeats against Liverpool and Arsenal previously at St James’ Park.
It was a first half of few chances at St James’ Park with Joelinton forcing two save from Matz Sels while Morgan Gibbs-White tested Nick Pope from a free-kick as the sides went in 0-0 at the break.
The Magpies took the lead just before the hour mark with Bruno Guimaraes curling the ball into the right side of the goal from the edge of the box.
Newcastle had a great opportunity to double their lead and secure victory in the closing stages as Bruno Guimaraes was fouled inside the penalty area by former Magpies midfielder Elliot Anderson.
With Anthony Gordon off the pitch, Nick Woltemade stepped up and scored his third goal in as many games for the club.
That secured a much-needed win for Newcastle as they moved up to 11th in the table with their second league victory of the season.
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Nick Pope - 6
Parried a Morgan Gibbs-White free-kick to safety after 20 minutes, the first time he was tested in the game. Had little to do but kept another clean sheet.
Kieran Trippier - 7
Defended a dangerous cross into the box well to clear the danger. Distributed the ball very well.
Malick Thiaw - 8
Showed a good turn of pace to clear the danger as Dan Ndoye threatened to break away. Strong in the air when needed as well. Came close to scoring late on. His fine form continues.
Sven Botman - 7
Covered well for Burn at times. Solid on the ball and helped Newcastle keep another clean sheet very comfortably.
Dan Burn - 6
Beaten easily by Nicolo Savona down the left, which led to an opening for Forest. Was targeted by the visitors. Set up Guimaraes to give The Magpies the lead.
Sandro Tonali - 8
The pick of Newcastle’s midfield trio with some good passing and carrying of the ball. Drilled a shot wide at the end of the first half and nearly scored a sublime angled volley in the second.
Bruno Guimaraes - 8
Trying to make things happen from midfield, not a lot came off in the first half but found the net in the second to give Newcastle the lead. Won the ball back in the build-up before curling the ball in from the edge of the box.
Joelinton - 6
Shot straight at Matz Sels in Newcastle’s first shot of the game. Denied again with a close-range header by a smart save from Sels. A bit reckless in the middle of the park, conceding soft free-kicks and being wasteful in possession.
Anthony Elanga - 4
Seen plenty of the ball in some decent areas but did little with it and kept conceding possession. A frustrating showing against his former club.
Anthony Gordon - 6
Drifted in from the left and linked play up well at the start, but his impact waned as the game went on.
Nick Woltemade - 7
Only had a couple of touches and couldn’t really impact the game in the opening 45. The ball fell kindly to him early in the second half, but his close-range effort was denied by a good block. Had another good chance later on but was denied by the crossbar. Made it four goals in five starts for Newcastle with a brilliantly taken penalty late on.
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Substitutes
Harvey Barnes - 6
On for Gordon 70: Lively from the bench once again and came close to scoring, only to be denied by Sels.
Jacob Murphy - 7
On for Elanga 70: Played a great ball to Barnes for a good chance. Offered more quality down the right.
Lewis Miley - n/a
On for Joelinton 90