Newcastle's troubles continued to deepen as Chris Wood scored a hat-trick against his former club to help Nottingham Forest to a 3-1 win at St James' Park.
December may have started with a victory over Manchester United but it's turned into a miserable month for Eddie Howe's side, who have now won one of their last seven games and been eliminated from the Champions League and Carabao Cup in a matter of weeks.
It all started so well for the hosts on Boxing Day, with Alexander Isak's penalty giving them the lead against a Forest side that began the game slowly in Nuno Espirito Santo's second match in charge.
But Wood led the fightback against the club he left in January, equalising in first-half stoppage time before producing two brilliantly composed finishes to complete his hat-trick.
Newcastle never looked like producing a comeback of their own and now face the daunting prospect of starting 2024 with fixtures against Liverpool, Sunderland, Manchester City and Aston Villa.
