Newcastle United 4-3 Nottingham Forest: Isak scores twice as Howe´s side survive thriller

Alexander Isak scored twice to hit a Premier League milestone as Newcastle United survived a late fightback to down fellow top-four hopefuls Nottingham Forest 4-3 in Sunday’s thriller.

Newcastle trailed 1-0 after just six minutes thanks to Callum Hudson-Odoi’s long-range opener, the Forest winger profiting from Jacob Murphy’s lapse in possession.

However, Newcastle roared back emphatically with four goals in just 11 first-half minutes as Lewis Miley restored parity before Murphy sent Eddie Howe’s side ahead two minutes later.

Isak’s stuttering penalty, awarded after a VAR review for a handball by Ola Aina, furthered Newcastle’s lead before the Swedish striker netted another with a deflected effort off the sliding Murillo.

His second strike moved him to 50 Premier League goals in just 76 appearances, with only six players ever hitting the half-century mark quicker in the competition’s history.

Nikola Milenkovic’s cute finish and a late Ryan Yates strike then had Newcastle reeling but they held on to move fifth, just three points adrift of Forest.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s side could still have stolen it at the death, however, if Yates’ penalty appeals after an Anthony Gordon challenge were not turned down in the dying seconds.

50 – Alexander Isak has scored his 50th Premier League goal in just his 76th appearance, with only six players scoring 50 goals in fewer appearances. Howay. pic.twitter.com/JakqNrdE9l

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 23, 2025

Data Debrief: Unwanted Forest feat proves too much to mount comeback

Forest became only the sixth side ever to go 1-0 up in a Premier League game but then trail by 3+ goals at half-time, and that collapse ultimately proved too much to mount a comeback from.

Isak’s double was the difference, with his 49th and 50th Premier League goal making him the highest-scoring Swedish player in the competition’s history, overtaking Freddie Ljungberg (48).

Just 111 seconds separated Isak’s first and second goals against Forest, who have lost three of their last four top-flight games (W1), as many as their previous 16 beforehand (W11 D2 L3).

That downturn in form is in stark contrast to Newcastle given Howe’s side have won 13 of their last 16 games in all competitions (L3); this is the most wins by any Premier League side in this period.

Howe will feel it was a deserved victory, too, having watched his team accumulate 3.05 expected goals to Forest’s 2.18, in what will go down as a Premier League classic for the ages.