Alexander Isak scores late penalty amid VAR drama – give us your Newcastle United player ratings

Newcastle United moved one point off Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League places after Alexander Isak scored a stoppage-time penalty to beat Nottingham Forest 2-1 at the City Ground.

A breathless 90 minutes was ultimately decided by goals from Isak in injury time of either half after VAR controversially ruled out Elliot Anderson’s header for offside.

An uncharacteristic error from Sven Botman saw Forest take the lead in the 26th minute through a well-taken Emmanuel Dennis finish. Eddie Howe would have been preparing for a ‘what might have been’ half-time team talk until Isak’s stunning acrobatic volley moments before the break saw the two sides head down the tunnel level.

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Newcastle dominated the match after the break and looked to have taken a thoroughly deserved lead when Anderson headed home at the far post in the 65th minute. Yet a lengthy VAR check saw referee Paul Tierney sent to the monitor to rule the goal out for offside, despite the ball coming off two Forest players in the build-up.

But the Magpies were awarded a late penalty after Moussa Niakhate blatantly handled the ball inside the area. Kieran Trippier initially picked up the ball to attract the attention of Forest’s best efforts to distract the spot-kick taker, before Isak eventually took the penalty himself to spark pandemonium among the travelling Toon Army.

And now we want you to use our interactive widget below to have your say on the player ratings for the 2-1 victory over Forest.

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