EPL
Nottingham 1-2 Newcastle: Player ratings as late Isak penalty seals comeback win

Newcastle moved to within a point of fourth-placed Tottenham in the Premier League table with a last-gasp win at Nottingham Forest.
Eddie Howe’s side fell behind early on but kept their heads at a raucous City Ground on Friday night, condemning Steve Cooper’s men to their first home defeat since September.
The visitors should have broken the deadlock with just five minutes on the clock. Kieran Trippier managed to release Jacob Murphy down the right flank, running in behind Renan Lodi and drawing a the attention of Moussa Niakhate. His cross picked out Joe Willock just outside the six yard box, who fired over with the imposing figure of Ryan Yates breathing down his neck.
Newcastle went even closer minutes later. A cleverly-worked free-kick saw Trippier pass the ball under the wall to Alexander Isak, whose close-range shot was deflected onto the bar by Lodi and held by Keylor Navas.
At the other end, Forest’s first sight of goal came when Brennan Johnson shimmied in from the right wing and struck a swerving shot at Nick Pope, who did well to read the flight of the ball and hold onto the effort.
Despite being the inferior of the two sides early on, Forest took the lead midway through the first half. Sven Botman’s hospital pass back to Pope was intercepted by Emmanuel Dennis, who was forced wide with the ball but did well to chip the ball over the onrushing goalkeeper and retreating Trippier on the line.
The Magpies rattled the woodwork for a second time in the first half when Sean Longstaff’s strike from 20 yards looped up off of the ankle of Felipe, bewildering Navas but gracefully ricocheting back off the bar and out to safety.
On the eve of the break, Newcastle found a leveller. Forest were caught napping with several players up the pitch, allowing Willock to sprint in behind and cross for Isak, who produced a wonderfully improvised finish with his shin, his effort bouncing in off the far post.
Howe’s men went close to taking the lead soon after the restart. A deep cross from Trippier was met by substitute Elliot Anderson, and his wicked volley was parried over by Navas.
The youngster wasn’t to be denied by Navas at his second attempt. Forest failed to clear their lines and Isak was able to dig out a cross towards the back post, with Anderson rising above Serge Aurier to head home. However, after a lengthy VAR check, Longstaff was judged to have been offside when Isak’s initial ball across ball was played in, and he became active when retrieving failed clearances from Felipe and Niakhate.
With the clock ticking down, Isak had a shot blocked off the line by Aurier as Newcastle went in desperate search of a late winner.
Such exuberance to go ahead for the first time saw the Magpies open themselves up a little at the back, with Johnson running at Botman and forcing a low save out of Pope on the break.
At the start of six minutes of stoppage time, Newcastle were awarded a penalty when Niakhate threw up an elbow trying to defend a cross, with the ball striking his arm. Isak stepped up and picked out the top corner to send the travelling Geordies into bedlam.
That proved to be the final piece of goal-mouth action, with Forest now nervously looking over their shoulders with many of their Premier League relegation rivals to take to the pitch later this weekend.
GK: Keylor Navas – 7/10 – Kept Forest in the game with a string of fine saves.
RB: Serge Aurier – 6/10 – Kept Saint-Maximin quiet but was given a tougher task by Anderson.
CB: Felipe – 4/10 – Quite messy with his aggressive style mannerisms.
CB: Moussa Niakhate – 1/10 – Eventually punished too much for his overly eager lunges and forays into midfield, giving away a daft penalty at the last.
LB: Renan Lodi – 4/10 – Continually caught out by Newcastle, who were happy to run into the space he so often vacated in behind Forest’s backline.
CM: Ryan Yates – 5/10 – Didn’t offer too much stability in midfield. Brought off with a shoulder injury.
CM: Jonjo Shelvey – 5/10 – Forest lacked creativity but were helped plenty by Shelvey’s impressive range of passing.
RM: Brennan Johnson – 6/10 – Looked a threat when he had the ball, but you can’t help but feel he should have been playing on the left to drift inside more naturally instead.
AM: Morgan Gibbs-White – 5/10 – Produced some nice flicks every now and then but failed to provide constant creativity.
LM: Emmanuel Dennis – 8/10 – Always lively wherever he popped up across the frontline. Rewarded for his endeavour with a goal.
CF: Andre Ayew – 4/10 – Looked every bit of a 33-year-old who hasn’t played too much at the top level in half a decade. Slow and cumbersome, often breaking down attacks by himself.
Substitutes
Remo Freuler (58′ for Yates) – 5/10
Sam Surridge (79′ for Ayew) – N/A
Neco Williams (79′ for Dennis) – N/A
Gustavo Scarra (90′ for Shelvey) – N/A
Manager
Steve Cooper – 5/10 – Forest were poor throughout yet found a way to stay in the game, which has been a theme throughout this season so it feels like it’s more than a fluke.
READ NEXT
GK: Nick Pope – 4/10 – Was not as imposing as he should have been for someone who is one of the league’s tallest players.
RB: Kieran Trippier – 7/10 – Enjoyed galloping beyond former Atletico Madrid teammate Lodi. Usually the man to start Newcastle attacks.
CB: Fabian Schar – 6/10 – Wasn’t really troubled by a largely blunt Forest attack.
CB: Sven Botman – 3/10 – Completely ignored Dennis when trying to play the ball back to Pope, leading to the opening goal. Continually clumsy.
LB: Dan Burn – 5/10 – Twisted inside-out by Johnson, though fortunately for Burn not in dangerous areas.
CM: Bruno Guimaraes – 7/10 – The calmest head in an aggressive midfield battle.
CM: Sean Longstaff – 5/10 – Popped up in dangerous areas but without much threat (and if you were being harsh, proved a net negative due to Anderson’s disallowed goal).
CM: Joe Willock – 7/10 – Like Longstaff got himself into opportune parts of the pitch and found chinks in Forest’s armour.
RW: Jacob Murphy – 5/10 – Newcastle missed the directness that Miguel Almiron can bring. Murphy, instead, played on the fringes of the game and contributed very little.
CF: Alexander Isak – 9/10 – An all-action performance. Scored a brilliant goal before being cruelly denied an assist of similar quality, but ultimately having the last laugh from 12 yards.
LW: Allan Saint-Maximin – 5/10 – Stifled by Aurier and withdrawn at the break.
Substitutes
Elliot Anderson (46′ for Saint-Maximin) – 7/10 – His ingenuity and tactical flexibility made it hard for Forest to pin him down.
Matt Ritchie (84′ for Murphy) – N/A
Manager
Eddie Howe – 7/10 – Newcastle were the better side, but they probably should have carved out more clear cut chances considering how fragile Forest looked.
Player of the match – Alexander Isak (Newcastle)
EPL
Fabio Paratici opens up on Antonio Conte’s Tottenham exit & provides update on manager search

Tottenham Hotspur managing director of football Fabio Paratici has discussed the decision to part ways with head coach Antonio Conte.
Spurs reached a mutual agreement for Conte to depart the club on Sunday night following a disappointing run of results.
Conte oversaw exits in the FA Cup, Carabao Cup and UEFA Champions League this season despite high hopes of ending the club’s 15-year trophy drought.
In his personal life, Conte lost three close friends – Spurs fitness coach Gian Piero Ventrone, former Italy colleague Gianluca Vialli and Serie A legend Sinisa Mihajlovic – while he had to undergo emergency surgery on his gallbladder at the start of February.
Speaking to Tottenham club channels, Paratici leaned on these reasons as to why Conte’s reign ended so sourly.
“About Antonio, we know how difficult this season was for him personally. Gian Piero died, Vialli and Mihajlovic [died], the surgery, the club supported him a lot about this and everyone was close with each other. But we arrived to this mutual agreement, and I think the decision we made was the right decision to everyone,” Paratici said.
Paratici went on to talk about interim manager Cristian Stellini – Conte’s former assistant who took charge of Tottenham in his absence this year – as well as speculation over a permanent successor.
“So Cristian managed the team even when Antonio was sick this season and was good. He has a lot of experience as a second and even first coach in the past. We have Ryan Mason who can help him a lot because he’s been part of this club for a long time, he knows everything about this club and this kind of group of players. So I think we are really, really confident that these two persons can do a very good job,” Paratici continued.
“The players doesn’t have to change a bit, the style of training. So change everything when you have just 10 games to go I think would be really difficult to the players.
“I would like to see, not just this season but even last season, when we came here we speak about ‘rebuild’ a bit. We started to play Conference League, starting not so good. Then at the end of the season we achieved a big result to get Champions League.
“Then this season, we played Champions League, we passed the group, it was a good achievement for us. And then we get out against Milan.
READ NEXT
“I think about growing up, the team and the club. The pathway for the club was good about results in that way. And then of course we are disappointed because we can be better in the FA [Cup] against Sheffield [United]. Every time you lose one game, you regret it.
“Of course we are focused and looking forward about being better arriving at the end of the season and the next season better again.
“The Premier League always is tough, so we have a lot of teams and clubs [who are] really, really prepared…but we fight, we like that. So we will fight to achieve our target, we are prepared to fight until the end of the season. We have to be focused on the last part of the season.
“We don’t speak about other coaches or follow the speculation in the media because this is just speculation. We are focused and now concentrating on helping Cristian and the staff, the players.
“I think today we have to be focused on our squad and our manager because it’s an important moment.”
Paratici is one of 12 former Juventus officials who were due in court this week regarding the club’s financial mismanagement, though a date for the hearing has now been pushed back until May.
LISTEN NOW
On this edition of Talking Transfers, part of the 90min podcast network, Scott Saunders, Graeme Bailey & Toby Cudworth discuss Julian Nagelsmann’s future and links to the vacant Tottenham head coach role, Barcelona’s ambition to bring Lionel Messi ‘home’, Brighton teenager Evan Ferguson, Florian Wirtz, Kalvin Phillips and more!
If you can’t see this embed, click here to listen to the podcast!
EPL
Bruno Fernandes disagrees with Cristiano Ronaldo’s assessment of Roberto Martinez

Bruno Fernandes has revealed he does not agree with teammate Cristiano Ronaldo regarding the impact of new Portugal head coach Roberto Martinez.
The former Everton and Belgium boss was named as the surprise successor to Fernando Santos following the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
While Martinez has been known to coach attacking and entertaining football, his teams are often characterised by their haphazard and sloppy defending – almost the inverse to how Portugal played under Santos.
Ronaldo, who scored four goals in two games for Portugal this month, was quick to tell reporters of the positive impact Martinez has had on the team.
“It’s a new chapter for everyone, for the players, the staff and the country. We feel good energy. It’s a breath of fresh air,” the Al Nassr forward said.
READ NEXT
But when speaking to Portuguese channel RTP3, Fernandes simmered Ronaldo’s excited judgement.
When asked if he agreed with Ronaldo’s comments, Fernandes replied: “No, it’s just a new coach with new ideas. There is no breath of fresh air at all. It’s just a transition period.
“The atmosphere in the national team has always been good. There’s never been anything that wasn’t fresh of the air, so I think it’s just new dynamics, new coach, and you have to assimilate his ideas.”
Portugal have made a perfect start under Martinez’s management, securing a 4-0 win at home to Liechtenstein before beating Luxembourg 6-0 on the road.
Fernandes and Ronaldo’s recent careers have been intertwined due to their prominence with the Portugal national team and their 15-month spell together at Manchester United.
Upon Fernandes’ arrival in England, the Old Trafford faithful devised a chant which referenced his arrival ‘from Sporting like Cristiano’.
The duo didn’t quite hit their best heights in tandem while at United, and Ronaldo’s bitter exit in November 2022 was followed by the two appearing to be on frosty terms ahead of the World Cup.
But Ronaldo dismissed this suggestion at the time, telling the press: “My relationship with him is excellent.”
LISTEN NOW
On this edition of Talking Transfers, part of the 90min podcast network, Scott Saunders, Graeme Bailey & Toby Cudworth discuss Julian Nagelsmann’s future and links to the vacant Tottenham head coach role, Barcelona’s ambition to bring Lionel Messi ‘home’, Brighton teenager Evan Ferguson, Florian Wirtz, Kalvin Phillips and more!
If you can’t see this embed, click here to listen to the podcast!
EPL
Premier League clubs keen to sign wantaway Lorient star Enzo Le Fee

A number of Premier League sides are monitoring Lorient midfielder Enzo Le Fee after he confirmed his desire to leave the club this summer, 90min understands.
The 23-year-old has dazzled this season for Lorient, impressing both defensively and in attack and chipping in with four goals and five assists in 28 games.
90min reported in November that Leicester had begun tracking Le Fee as they prepared for the departure of Youri Tielemans, and sources have confirmed to 90min that the Foxes are by no means alone with their interest.
Both Fulham and Wolves have voiced an interest in Le Fee while one source also named Liverpool, Newcastle and Tottenham as admirers of the France Under-21 international.
The interest in Le Fee has follows the midfielder’s public admission that he does not plan to extend his contract, which expires in the summer of 2024, and his desire to secure a move away from Lorient this summer.
READ NEXT
“It’s time for me to leave,” Le Fee told Le Telegramme on Monday.
“I have a special bond with the club and that’s why I wanted to extend my contract at the start of the season. I waited for a contract offer from Lorient until December. It never came. Now, I don’t expect anything from the club and I won’t extend my contract.
“I hope to leave this summer so that my transfer will bring money to Lorient.”
Before that interview, Le Fee told L’Equipe of his desire to finish the season strongly to boost his chances of a summer transfer.
“I’ve never wanted to leave Lorient through the back door,” he stressed. “We’re having a very good season and I know these last few months are very important if I want to join a big club.
“I am someone who likes challenges, risks too. I want to show that I am capable of playing at the highest level.”
LISTEN NOW
On this edition of Talking Transfers, part of the 90min podcast network, Scott Saunders, Graeme Bailey & Toby Cudworth discuss Julian Nagelsmann’s future and links to the vacant Tottenham head coach role, Barcelona’s ambition to bring Lionel Messi ‘home’, Brighton teenager Evan Ferguson, Florian Wirtz, Kalvin Phillips and more!
If you can’t see this embed, click here to listen to the podcast!
-
EPL1 week ago
Graham Potter fires warning to Kai Havertz over goal celebration
-
EPL1 week ago
Graham Potter provides N’Golo Kante injury return plan
-
EPL1 week ago
Sir Jim Ratcliffe won’t pay ‘stupid’ price to buy Man Utd
-
Football1 week ago
De Jong responds to new Man United transfer link after El Clasico win
-
EPL1 week ago
Man Utd vs Fulham: Confirmed lineups