Nottingham Forest suffered a bitterly-disappointing defeat at the City Ground on Friday night as Newcastle United scored late goals in both halves to claim a 2-1 win.
The Reds’ nine-game unbeaten run at home came to an end as their hopes of Premier League survial were dealt a blow ahead of the international break.
Alexander Isak scored a stoppage-time penalty after drawing the Magpies level during the first half as he cancelled out Emmanuel Dennis’ brilliantly-taken opener.
Forest are 14th in the table, two points above the bottom three, with a number of their relegation rivals in action on Saturday and Sunday.
Here’s how reporter Max Scott rated the Forest players after Friday’s loss to The Magpies.
1. Keylor Navas - 6
Nothing could be done about the first goal - a superb finish from Isak. Fabulous save from an Anderson volley early in the second half. Last- minute penalty save wasn’t to be.
2. Serge Aurier - 6
Couple of sloppy passes and crosses in the first 20 minutes. But his effort couldn’t be faulted. Another solid performance from the Ivorian.
3. Felipe - 7
Calm on the ball. Made some important tackles in that first half and continued his solid form in a Forest shirt. Crucial block from a close-range Bruno Guimares effort in the closing stages.
4. Moussa Niakhate - 5
Niakhate’s added pace gave Forest a bit more assurance at the back but he lacked match sharpness. Looked to be frustrated with the lack of service from Navas. Bizarre jumping technique which lead to the crucial penalty.