Harvey Barnes ends Newcastle’s comeback win at Nottingham Forest | Premier League

Nottingham Forest are fishing in the waters Newcastle want to swim in. Two years ago it was Eddie Howe’s team that smashed the metropolitan elite. This season, Nuno Espírito Santo’s side have been the provincial side to punch beyond their capabilities, but Newcastle, now just a point behind Forest, showed they are capable of keeping up.

A comeback in the second half thanks to three fine finishes, the first an impressive opportunism from Alexander Isak, the second a darting, long-range beauty from Joelinton that showed courage to fight. The third goal, scored by Harvey Barnes after an assist from the influential Sandro Tonali, sent the Forest fans towards the exit.

In a season where high rollers are fighting to maintain their usual dominance, there are similarities between the contenders. Evangelos Maranakis, Forest’s owner, is a nation-state unto himself, as ambitious – and ruthless – as any autocratic ruler. His manager Nuno has a calm, diplomatic personality, a steely determination not far removed from Howe’s. Some employees are also known. Chris Wood was a popular Newcastle player, valued for his performances when there were fears of relegation. This season has shown his former employers that he can be useful in the higher ranks.

Having beaten Arsenal with a rearguard attack and well-executed counterattacks, Newcastle needed to move forward. In the first 45 minutes, Newcastle struggled to keep up with Forest. Howe’s team lacks neither muscle nor aggression. On the sidelines, Jason Tindall, Howe’s right-hand man and handler, was doing Jason Tindall things to add even more fuel. Meanwhile, the referee, Anthony Taylor, who is not popular in Nottingham, was given a penalty from the first minute for his late yellow card for Dan Burn after the defender had brought down Morgan Gibbs-White in full swing.

It made for a heady brew in the crackling atmosphere in the first half. Joe Willock came to the fore for Newcastle and Anthony Gordon’s first real involvement was to fire his team-mate’s deflected cross into the Trent End. Nuno’s speedster team opted for the counterattack as their preferred weapon and the set piece that allowed them to score.

Willock had been penalized for knocking down Ola Aina and Anthony Elanga’s free-kick as Wood made a dummy run was stolen by Murillo to score a header which was skillfully scored for his first ever professional goal. The Brazilian, who was called up by his country for the first time last week, is one of several Forest players to suggest that seemingly shotgun recruitment is actually producing quality personnel, even before Edu arrives from Arsenal as expected. At this point, Nikola Milenkovic, Forest’s other centre-back, had the Forest fans purring with his interpretation of the game.

Mats Sels, another former Newcastle player from the Championship era, made an excellent save from Bruno Guimarães as Newcastle sought quick retaliation and then parried a snap shot from Sean Longstaff. In the first 45 minutes, Isak was limited to one run, which was ended by a beautiful, saving tackle from Murillo.

Forest had endured a first half in which they had torn their opponents to shreds, but when Gordon moved to the left, Newcastle began the second half with renewed fire, and Bruno soon whistled a shot wide of the goal with his outside kick, while Forest – and Sels – defenders were forced into more and more last-drop stuff. Forest maintained some threat on the counter-attack, but after Nicolás Domínguez was sent through on the halfway line and Nick Pope parried him, they lost control of the game.

Domínguez galloped back to fend off Newcastle’s next attack, but he was forced out from a corner. Gordon’s ball flew into the goal and Wood’s lowered head inadvertently helped Isak shoot the ball into the goal.

That brought Nuno’s first changes, Elliot Anderson was applauded by both sets of fans, accompanied by Jota Silva’s lightning-quick energy. Anderson is the young player Howe didn’t want to lose, but a dud in the PSR disputes that both clubs were embroiled in over the summer. The Whitley Bay lad had started his afternoon on the bench while Gibbs-White, previously linked with Newcastle, took over the playmaking duties.

Gibbs-White’s effectiveness declined sharply as Howe’s team gradually beat Forest and their fans began to fill the air with abuse. Taylor further dented his popularity when he slammed Nuno’s assistant Rui Barbosa for complaining that Burn deserved a second yellow card for bringing down Jota.

An atmosphere of fear soon turned into an atmosphere of defeatism. After Gordon sent Willock away, Isak aimed a volley at goal that left the home fans in suspense, but the shot went wide. Newcastle had become far more dangerous on the counter-attack and their lead came when Elanga lost the ball upfield and sent away Tonali Isak, whose switch of play gave Joelinton time to switch to his left foot. Sels could do little to stop a shot that found the net. It was left to Barnes to complete a well-done recovery job and thwart Forest’s ambitions.