Nottingham Forest v Newcastle ratings: Dennis 8, Shelvey 6; Isak 9, Longstaff 8

Magpies eye top four after 2-1 win at City Ground on Friday

NOTTINGHAM FOREST RATINGS: Keylor Navas - 6. Made a number of saves to keep the scores level in the second half. Couldn’t have done anything to stop Newcastle’s goals. AP

Serge Aurier - 6. Lucky to see the offside flag come to his rescue after he was beaten by Anderson to put Newcastle 2-1 up. Denied Isak with a goal-line clearance in the 84th minute. Getty

Moussa Niakhate - 4. Thwarted Newcastle's attacks with several blocks in the first half. Inexplicably raised his hands while challenging Isak in the penalty area and gifted Newcastle a spot-kick. Getty

Felipe - 7. Monstrous in the centre of defence for Nottingham Forest. Denied Guimaraes from point-blank range with a block in the closing stages. Getty

Renan Lodi - 6. Breathed a sigh of relief after Isak’s deflected shot - that came off his shin - hit the crossbar and into the hands of Navas. Cleared Anderson’s cross off the line to keep the match level in the 72nd minute. Reuters

Jonjo Shelvey - 6. Sat back and helped break up attacks in the first half. Got close to putting Forest ahead with a shot that whistled past the post on the hour. AFP

Morgan Gibbs-White - 6. Worked hard in the middle of the pitch and helped bring his teammates into play. Almost set up Surridge late in the game with a cross. AFP

Ryan Yates - 6. Tracked back well to force Willock into hitting his shot high and wide early in the game. Provided excellent cover for the more attack-minded midfielders. Getty

Emmanuel Dennis - 8. Displayed excellent composure to beat Pope, slow down, and chip the ball past the onrushing Trippier for Nottingham Forest’s opener. Caused problems for Trippier until he was replaced by Neco Williams. AFP

Brennan Johnson - 7. Had Nottingham Forest’s first attempt of the night with a shot straight into the hands of Pope. Denied by Pope again when he ran through on goal in the 88th minute. AP

Andre Ayew - 6. Used his experience and hold-up play to bring his teammates into the game. Didn't really pose much threat to Pope’s goal, though. AFP

SUBS: Remo Freuler (Yates, 58') - 6. Worked in the middle of the pitch after coming on but failed to offer much going forward. AP

Sam Surridge (Ayew, 79') - N/A. Neco Williams (Dennis, 79') - N/A. Gustavo Scarpa (Shelvey, 90') - N/A. Getty

NEWCASTLE UNITED RATINGS: Nick Pope - 7. Got played short by Botman in the build-up to Forest’s opener. Made three saves to keep the scores level in the second half. AFP

Kieran Trippier - 6. Showed inventiveness by finding Isak with a low pass while the Nottingham Forest players were waiting for him to have a pop at goal. Was a threat all game with his excellent crosses. AFP

Dan Burn - 6. Endured a tough night against the pacy Brennan Johnson but showed resilience by never shying away from tackles. Looked more composed going forward. AFP

Sven Botman - 5. Responsible for the disastrous backpass that led to Nottingham Forest’s opener. Almost set up the winner after a mazy run into the Forest penalty area halfway into the second half. AFP

Fabian Schar - 7. Looked assured in the centre of defence for the Magpies. Got on the end of two corners in the Nottingham Forest box but couldn’t direct his header at goal. Reuters

Joe Willock - 7. Should have put Newcastle ahead after he was found in the box by a low cross from Murphy. Did well to set Isak up for Newcastle’s equaliser on the stroke of half-time. PA

Sean Longstaff - 8. Unlucky to see an effort rebound off the crossbar in the first half. Got more involved in attack in the second half and got close to setting up his teammates a number of times. PA

Bruno Guimaraes - 8. Central to everything the Magpies created in attack. Denied by a Felipe block when he took aim at goal late in the game. AFP

Allan Saint-Maximin - 5. Displayed flashes of brilliance in the first half but failed to really impact the game. Subbed off at half-time. Getty

Jacob Murphy - 7. Showed great awareness to stay onside and also find Willock in the box after just six minutes. Later, he should have done better to keep a shot on target after he was found in the box by Anderson. AFP

Alexander Isak - 9. Saw a shot deflect onto the crossbar in the 13th minute but got his second goal in two games that drag Newcastle level on the stroke of half-time. Scored from the spot to give the visitors the win in the 93rd minute. Reuters

SUBS: Elliot Anderson (Maximin, 46') - 8. Almost set up Isak immediately after coming on at half-time. Thought he had put Newcastle in front after heading in from close range, but VAR overruled the goal for offside in the build-up. Matt Richie (Murphy, 84') - N/A. AFP

Alexander Isak's stoppage-time penalty kept Newcastle's top-four bid on track after a 2-1 comeback win against Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on Friday.

Isak levelled the score late in the first half after Emmanuel Dennis fired Forest in front at City Ground.

Victory lifted the Magpies to within one point of fourth-placed Tottenham and with a game in hand to come on Spurs.

"We believe and we know that we have it in our own hands and have a good chance," said Isak after Newcastle signed off for the international break with back-to-back wins.

"It is important we have gone into this break with a good feeling with two wins from two games."

"We know it is a hard ground to come and take three points and we got off to a bad start but the team showed good character," added Isak, who has six goals in 10 games.

"I think we showed great character and kept pushing. We kept controlling the game and had chances."

Player ratings from the match can be seen in the picture gallery above. To view the next image, click on the arrows or swipe if on a mobile device.