Nottingham beat Newcastle 3:1 away in the first match of the festive 19th round of the English Premier League. On Boxing Day, Forest turned the Magpies around for a debut success under new manager Nuno Espirito Santo.
The start didn't bode well for the turn of events at St James's Park as the home side opened the scoring through Alexander Isak from the penalty spot in the 23rd minute. However, in stoppage time of the first half, former Geordie striker Chris Wood punished Eddie Howe's side after an assist from Anthony Ilanga. At the beginning of the second half, the two combined again for Wood's second goal of the match, and soon after, the attacking player from Nottingham received a wonderful lead pass from Murillo, easily overcame the guard Martin Dubravka and converted for 3:1, with which he completed his hat-trick . The goal was reviewed by the VAR, but in the end the original decision was not overturned. Until the end, the visitors kept their advance and thus achieved the first success under the new coach Santo, who debuted in the last round with a dramatic loss to Bournemouth with 2:3 at home.
Nottingham have climbed to 16th on 17 points, one ahead of 17th-placed Everton, who host champions Manchester City tomorrow, and five ahead of bottom-of-the-line newcomers Luton, who have two games in hand. Newcastle's crisis continues, with Howe and company suffering four defeats in their last five league games - meanwhile the side were knocked out of the Champions League and League Cup. This was the eighth defeat for the Magpies since the start of the season in the Premiership, and the team is seventh with 29 points.
The team faces another tough test - away to Liverpool on January 1, while Nottingham welcomes Manchester United two days earlier. /BGNES
