Newcastle United's Kieran Trippier showed his leadership skills on Friday night after taking the pressure off Alexander Isak before his winning penalty.

What did Trippier do against Nottingham Forest?

Eddie Howe's side were able to close the gap on fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur over the weekend with their dramatic victory at the City Ground on Friday night.

The game came down to a late penalty which was converted by the Swedish forward in the dying minutes of the game to see the Magpies take all three points back to Tyneside.

However, in the lead-up to Isak taking the penalty, Trippier picked the ball up and looked as if he was ready to step up and take the spot kick.

But then he offloaded the ball to Isak who had, therefore, avoided any of the mind games being played by the Forest players and this seriously impressed journalist Lee Ryder:

"We've seen nothing like that at Newcastle, really. I think everybody, including the Sky Sports production team, thought it was going to be Kieran Trippier taking it because they put up a graphic of his previous penalty kicks.

"So a great piece of genius. Really got the goalkeeper thinking and then it was just an easy task for Isak to step up and slam it in the corner."

Is Trippier still good enough for Newcastle?

There may have been some question marks over a potential slip in form from the 32-year-old right-back over the last couple of months.

And it has to be said Newcastle's defensive solidity has been tested since the return from the World Cup which has seen fewer clean sheets kept in recent weeks.

However, if there were any question marks over Trippier, they can't be on his leadership skills which were simply exemplary on Friday night.

Isak has been in fine form over the last few weeks and impressed massively in the game against Nottingham Forest, however, there was a huge amount of pressure resting on that penalty.

We have seen a number of top players miss from the penalty spot when the pressure is on and Trippier certainly helped to relieve at least some of the pressure.

With some protests being held by the hosts over the award of the penalty, it could have allowed some of the Forest players to potentially get in the head of Isak.

Instead, the Swede was able to blend into the background and avoid the attention before stepping up and slotting the ball home.

In addition to taking the pressure off Isak, it could also be seen as a method of confusing the goalkeeper with Keylor Navas seemingly expecting Trippier to take it.

And when Isak stepped forward, it will have left the Costa Rican shot-stopper trying to recall the homework he will have likely done before the game.