Nottingham Forest are fishing in the waters Newcastle aspire to swim in. Two years ago, it was Eddie Howe’s team breaking up the metropolitan elite. This season, Nuno Espírito Santo’s team have been the provincial outfit punching above their weight but Newcastle, now just a point behind Forest, showed they have the capability to join the throng.

A second-half comeback, courtesy of three lovely finishes, the first a piece of striking opportunism from Alexander Isak, the second an arrowing, long-range beauty from Joelinton showed their stomach for the fight. The third, scored by Harvey Barnes, after an assist by the influential Sandro Tonali, sent Forest fans barreling for the exits.