Newcastle boost Premier League top four hopes at Nottingham Forest's expense

Alexander Isak's double helped ease Newcastle firmly back into the race for Champions League qualification by denting Nottingham Forest's hopes in a seven-goal thriller.

The Sweden international took his tally for the season to 21 as he reached 50 goals in the Premier League in a 4-3 victory over third-placed Forest at St James' Park in which the visitors had taken an early lead through Callum Hudson-Odoi.

Lewis Miley, Jacob Murphy and Isak twice scored inside 11 first-half minutes to turn the game on its head in front of a crowd of 52,223 - among them chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan - and send the Magpies into Wednesday night's clash with leaders Liverpool on a high after last weekend's drubbing at Manchester City.

FULL MATCH DETAILS

The visitors, who host second-placed Arsenal in midweek, pulled one back through defender Nikola Milenkovic and ensured a tense conclusion when substitute Ryan Yates struck at the death, but they had given themselves too much to do and are now just three points ahead of City and Newcastle.

Forest took a sixth-minute lead when Hudson-Odoi caught Jacob Murphy in possession and surged forward before firing past Nick Pope, making his first Premier League appearance since December 7, from 25 yards.

However, the goal came against the run of play and undeterred, the home side were back on terms within four minutes when, after Forest had smuggled away Bruno Guimaraes' header, Lewis Hall fed the ball into Miley's feet and he took a controlling touch before dispatching a left-footed shot across Matz Sels and inside the far post.

The visitors fell behind within seconds after Hall ran on to Isak's clever backheel and drove forward before sending in a cross which Murphy bundled home at the far post after it had