(Credit: Manh Tung, Breaking Media, Match of the Day)

Evan Shaw

Mon 11 May 2026 7:15, UK

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Nottingham Forest secured their safety in the Premier League with a 1-1 draw at home to Newcastle United on Sunday afternoon.

The Reds suffered disappointment in the semi-final of the Europa League on Thursday night, but bounced back to get what they needed against the Magpies on Sunday.

Harvey Barnes looked to have given the visitors all three points when he raced clear to beat Matz Sels in the 74th minute, but Elliot Anderson stepped up to haul his team level against his former club with 88 on the clock.

Vitor Pereira’s side extended their unbeaten run to eight games in the Premier League, as they have dragged themselves clear of any relegation trouble in the last few weeks.

James McAtee has been handed a bigger opportunity to impress at the City Ground in recent weeks, and he played a crucial role in Forest earning a point against Newcastle.

Shay Given singles out James McAtee

McAtee has had to bide his time since moving to Forest last summer, and he was tasked with impacting the game from the bench in the latter stages on Sunday.

The midfielder came on in place of Luca Netz in the 83rd minute against Newcastle, and helped to get his team back into the contest.

That is exactly what he was able to do for Pereira’s men in the final knockings of the game, as he exchanged a neat one-two with Anderson inside the box to set his teammate up to score.

It was a clever piece of play from the former Manchester City youngster, and one which saw him singled out for praise by Shay Given in his analysis of the goal on Match of the Day.

“This is the goal here,” the Irishman said.

“It’s a brilliant ball from McAtee, but Anderson is not just happy passing to McAtee and seeing what happens. He happily follows it into the box, and he had cramp at the end of that, which just shows what he put in for the team.”

McAtee slowly changing Nottingham Forest transfer stance

Former Manchester United chief scout Mick Brown told Football Insider back in March that Forest would let McAtee go this summer, after a difficult marriage between the two this term.

He suggested that the East Midlands outfit were happy to cut their losses on the starlet, but that may no longer be the case after the way the last few weeks have played out.

The 23-year-old has begun to exert a slightly stronger influence on Pereira’s team, and he has undoubtedly benefited from the injury to Morgan Gibbs-White in the last few games.

McAtee has begun to show flashes of the quality that the Reds thought they were getting when they first signed him, and there will surely now be hope that he could be a useful figure next term.

He was frozen out by previous managers earlier in the campaign, but the youngster is finally starting to show what he is capable of at the City Ground.