The Good, The Bad, and The Average #14: NUFC player ratings vs. Notts Forest (a) [PL11]

Newcastle United made it three wins on the bounce with a thoroughly deserved 3-1 victory over Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Sunday afternoon.

After a first half pockmarked by disgraceful refereeing that helped our hosts head into the interval somehow ahead, justice was served in the second period.

Alexander Isak, Joelinton, and Harvey Barnes got the goals that mattered, but there were strong performances all over the park from those in black and white.

That fella from Bournemouth in the dugout didn't do too badly, either, with only Anthony Gordon off-colour. Here's how we saw it from Nick Pope through to Will Osula...

Serena Taylor/Newcastle United

The Good

There's only one place to start tonight, with our three-position Brazilian beast Joelinton. Beginning on the left flank and interchanging frequently with Joe Willock, he played most of the game on the right wing and scored a wonderful goal from there, cutting in onto his left peg and firing home from the edge of the box. It's no surprise that the team is playing better as a unit when he's playing better individually.

Our experienced central defensive duo of Fabian Schär and Dan Burn weren't far behind our number seven for the Man of the Match award, with a combined 11 clearances and 14 overall defensive interventions to limit Forest to just two chances of note. Burn rode his luck at times with his passing and shirt-pulling, but this was an almost flawless game from Schär, aside from one embarrassing slip when trying to tackle Elliot Anderson in midfield.

Outside of them, the rather less experienced duo of Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall chalked up another good afternoon in black and white. Set piece deliveries aside, Hall was fantastic again, while Livramento's lack of end product continues to frustrate, but every other part of his game is on point. His overlapping run on Joelinton for our second goal epitomised his attitude and was correctly praised by Paul Merson in Sky's post-match analysis. These two could be England's starting full-backs in the World Cup if they keep this up.

Bruno Guimarães and Joe Willock played very different games but were equally effective, with Bruno growing into things when moved into a more advanced role after Sandro Tonali's introduction. Before that, Willock had been comfortably our most effective attacking player. He dovetailed beautifully with Joelinton when the Brazilian was stationed on the left and was a major threat in transition. If he can keep himself fit he'll have a major impact on our fortunes this season.

At the tip of the 4-3-3, Alexander Isak endured a difficult first half before turning it around. He was largely to blame for Forest's opener when he inexplicably dropped deep from his defensive zone to give Murillo a free header. He seemed to come out with some fire in his belly after the interval and got the equaliser by being alive to a second ball in the box, though he missed a huge chance to make it 2-1 on the volley from Willock's perfect cross a bit later.

In goal, Nick Pope could have whipped out the pipe and slippers at times. He stood no chance for Murillo's goal due to the poor defending in front of him, but on the rare occasions he was asked to contribute to our deserved victory he stepped up and did what he needed to with minimal fuss. He seems to be growing in confidence the more he plays, but he's still not the 'keeper he was two seasons ago just yet.

Sean Longstaff put in a similar sort of display to Pope in that he didn't have to do anything exceptionally but was still vital to the victory. His major involvement came when he won the duel with Chris Wood to set up Isak for the equaliser, but he got through plenty of dirty work otherwise as well. He is still frustrating with his dallying on the ball and pass choices, but the results when he starts can't be argued with.

What an impact off the bench Sandro Tonali and Harvey Barnes made, with the Italian heavily involved in the breaks for our second and third goals and Barnes finishing in trademark style for the third. A special word for Barnes' touch in the build to his goal, too, with it being Ryan Yates getting done like a kipper making it all the more enjoyable.

Eddie Howe went with an unchanged team and while some fingers might be pointed at him and his coaching staff for the free-kick defending that led to Forest's goal, he got pretty much everything else spot-on in running here. The decision to move Joelinton out to the right proved to be a masterstroke in the end, while the introductions of Tonali and Barnes had a huge bearing on the destination of the three points. He thankfully seems to have ridden out his rough patch and we're left looking only upwards now.

Serena Taylor/Newcastle United

The Bad

We'll get a good referee one day, we're sure of it. Anthony Taylor certainly wasn't that, though. He missed a blatant elbow by Ryan Yates on Livramento early on, which infuriatingly led to a yellow card and one-game suspension for Burn. He then gave a corner when we should have had a goal kick, ultimately leading to Forest's opener. Thankfully, his negative influence on the contest waned from there.

For all the big talk about them, Nottingham Forest were no great shakes here and created next to nothing in open play. The supremely unlikeable Yates was lucky to stay on the pitch (twice!), Chris Wood was barely a factor, and their 'flying wingers' got no change out of our young studs in the full-back positions. We hope to see them sliding down the table from here on out. 'We hate Nottingham Forest...', as the song goes.

In the visiting ranks, Anthony Gordon was the only player to dip significantly below expectations in terms of individual performance. That was despite him playing the majority of his minutes in his preferred position wide on the left. He didn't complete a dribble, was sloppy in possession multiple times, and his decision to shoot—and miss badly—rather than pass in the first half was frustrating. He needs to step it up massively.

Serena Taylor/Newcastle United

The Average

We feel harsh slinging Will Osula in here, with the young Dane only entering the pitch for the final 30 seconds of play. Unsurprisingly, he did not get a touch of the ball.

Serena Taylor/Newcastle United

The Breakdown

Another week and another sea of 7s, 8s, and 9s. What a time to be alive!

The XI

Nick Pope – 7

Tino Livramento – 8

Fabian Schär – 9

Dan Burn – 8

Lewis Hall – 8

Sean Longstaff – 7

Bruno Guimarães – 8

Joe Willock – 8 (off 69')

Anthony Gordon – 5 (off 80')

Alexander Isak – 8 (off 90+8')

Joelinton – 9 ⭐️

The Subs

Sandro Tonali – 8 (on 69')

Harvey Barnes – 8 (on 80')

Will Osula – 6 (on 90+8')

The Gaffer

Eddie Howe – 8

The Opposition

Notts Forest – 5

The Ref

Anthony Taylor – 3

Serena Taylor/Newcastle United

The Next

Well, after yet another international break, it's time for West Ham United to roll up to Gallowgate. Unfortunately for the poor little Hammers, it'll be for a Monday 8 p.m. (GMT) kick-off that'll be shown live on Sky.

St James' under the lights after fifteen days without a game? Against opponents who are generally terrible away? With Kieran Trippier and Callum Wilson possibly back in the squad? We'll be putting our houses on a home win...

Howay the lads!