£80,000-a-week Newcastle United midfielder received the joint second-highest rating midfielder

Newcastle United maintained their Premier League top-four hopes against Nottingham Forest on Friday night.

After giving the Reds a golden opportunity, the Magpies fell behind in the 26th minute.

Emmanuel Dennis took advantage of a Sven Botman error to put himself in a good scoring position.

As he was being closed down, he still had work to do, but he did it in style, chipping into the net from a tight angle.

Newcastle then equalized in first-half injury time, thanks to an outstanding improvised finish from Alexander Isak.

Midway through the second half, substitute Elliot Anderson thought he had scored his first senior goal.

However, VAR ruled that his effort was offside.

Nonetheless, Newcastle went on to win all three points late in the game.

In stoppage time, Moussa Niakhate handled in the box, and Isak stepped up to convert from 12 yards out.

‘GREAT CROSS FOR THE EQUALISER’

While Isak was undoubtedly the star, Joe Willock also deserves praise for his performance.

Chronicle Live gave the £80,000-a-week midfielder the joint second-highest rating.

Willock and Anderson each received 9 out of 10, with Isak scoring a perfect 10.

‘Aside from the first half of horror, miss played a huge role in this,’ wrote Lee Ryder.

‘Great cross for the equalizer, and telling ball into box in stoppage time helped win the penalty.’

Willock also had some impressive stats, according to Whoscored.

Aside from his assist, the 23-year-old made two key passes and contributed two shots.

He also had two dribbles, three interceptions, and two tackles.

Overall, a strong performance from Willock, who should be in contention for a spot in the England squad in the coming months.