NUFC player ratings vs Brentford – One 9, four 8s, a few 7s, the odd 6 and two 5s

Another unbelievable result down in London, making it five wins in a row for Eddie’s high flying Magpies. Here come the ratings:

Nick Pope – 8 – Big save for Toney’s penalty. So close to saving the second and was a key presence crosses and set pieces. Made a superb save late on to deny Toney an equaliser with a close range flick on header. Made five saves overall in a really solid showing.

Kieran Trippier – 7 – Defensively solid performance from Tripps’ this afternoon. Led the side brilliantly as always. Struggled first half a bit much like his teammates but found his rhythm second half, bossing the game from right back. Made some brilliant interceptions to stop Brentford making breakaway attacks. Committed the odd silly foul.

Fabian Schar – 8 – Our best player in the first half, composed on the ball and astute in reading the game and in the tackle. Battled brilliantly in the second half and rallied around his teammates. Five duels won and six clearances with another solid defensive display from the Swiss man.

Even Botman – 7.5 – Recovered from giving the penalty away absolutely brilliantly. Fantastic showing after that, solid in the tackle and kept Toney relatively quiet. Nine clearances, five duels won, two tackles and an interception summed up a fantastic display (post penalty that is).

Dan Burn – 6 – Looked jagged all afternoon and struggled with the pace of game. Did as much as he could defensively, but failed to affect the game too much going forward. Three clearances, two tackles and two interceptions however sum up a pretty good defensive display.

Bruno Guimaraes – 7.5 – 270 minutes played in a week will have taken its toll on his legs. Looked a bit fatigued in the first half but won eight of his duels in midfield and was excellent in the second half, bombing forward and creating chances in the final third. Got a real foothold in the game second half and started to boss the midfield battle.

Sean Longstaff – 5 – Really struggled to get up to pace of the game, perhaps due to his game load over the past week. Only made 19 passes in the first half and was taken off at half time; surely for a rest before Villa next weekend.

Joelinton – 9* – An absolutely monster in midfield this afternoon. Seemed to be absolutely everywhere in the midfield battle, winning tackles, breaking up play and breaking forward in transition. Also played key role in our vital equaliser. Defensively, the Brazilian man was absolutely superb, winning 11 duels in the middle of the park, making four tackles and two interceptions. Looks unstoppable at the moment, putting in a string of phenomenal performances.

Joe Willock – 6 – Struggled to affect the game as much as he has in recent weeks. Lacked the space in behind to exploit his explosive pace. A relatively quiet showing from Willock who was substituted just after the hour mark.

Jacob Murphy – 5 – Another player who looked shot to bits in the first half. Looked to be lacking energy in the final third when taking his man on. Struggled to make a difference in the attacking third and taken off at half time.

Alexander Isak – 8 – Got done for Brentford’s penalty and pretty unlucky to concede a harsh looking foul for an albeit clumsy challenge. Took his goal absolutely beautifully with a cultured curling finish into the top right corner. Should’ve had another goal soon after, snatching at a chance and blasting the shot straight at the goalkeeper. Only made 32 touches in the game but made most of them count. Unlucky not to come away with two goals but demonstrated moments of world class quality. What a player.

Substitutes:

Callum Wilson – 8 – An absolute nightmare for the Brentford defence when he came on the pitch. Made Isak’s goal with a brilliant cut back to the edge of the box. Really unlucky not to have a goal for himself soon after with a clinical finish into the bottom corner. The goal was eventually ruled out for supposed handball.

Anthony Gordon – 7 – Superb off the bench again in both defence and attack and will be hoping for a start against Aston Villa now. Could’ve had an assist in the second half with a brilliant pass through to Wilson. Completed 100% of his passes and made two fantastic tackles in a really good second half.

Elliot Anderson – 6 – Looked a real threat off the left. Could’ve done better with an effort inside the box following a pass from Wilson.

Jamaal Lascelles – N/A – Brought on to add height to our defence late on and did his job.

Matt Ritchie – N/A – Played around 30 seconds.