Newcastle 4 Tottenham 0
As The Magpies welcomed Ange Postecoglou’s side to St James’ Park, Tottenham had made big inroads to securing a top four finish last weekend. They needed to follow that performance up as Aston Villa were poised to capitalise on any dropped points.
The visitors created the first sight of goal as Johnson used his pace to get to the byline and cross. He picked out Werner at the back post but the German got his volley all wrong and went high into the stands. If Spurs were to get anything out of this game, they needed to be clinical in front of goal.
Werner had another chance as the ball was cut back to him from the byline on the opposite flank. He swiped at it, completely slicing his effort, causing no problems at all for Dubravka in the Newcastle goal as it went out to the other wing.
They paid the ultimate price as Gordon robbed Udogie deep in the Spurs’ half. He slotted a ball in behind the visitors’ defence for Isak, who sat van de Ven on the floor, before bending his shot into the far corner. The Magpies’ striker is in a rich vein of form right now.
Credit: @NUFC
Spurs were the architects of their own downfall in so many ways. Porro played a loose pass back towards his keeper and did not see Gordon lurking. He cut inside onto his right foot and slotted the ball past Vicario to double the hosts’ lead.
Eddie Howe’s side almost added another before the break when they were gifted another chance by Spurs. Isak cut inside looking to score again but just as he was pulling the trigger, Udogie put in a great challenge to put the ball behind for a corner.
Into the second half, a Spurs’ attack broke down and Guimaraes played a sublime ball over the top for Isak to run onto. He ran through on goal and finished past Vicario to surely put the game beyond Tottenham. The Magpies were proving to be so clinical in front of goal.
As a free kick was curled into the box, Isak failed to get a touch on it but the ball still narrowly missed the far post with the Tottenham keeper just a spectator. Anderson then had a glimpse of goal moments later but Vicario did well to save at his near post.
This must be what frustrates Postecoglou so much. One week his side can look like a team that would look at home in the Champions League. Then they follow it up with a performance which makes you wonder if the Europa Conference League would be a step too far for them.
The Magpies continued to press and forced a corner. As the ball was half-cleared to the edge of the box, Krafth hit his effort into the ground which struck the post before going wide. Howe’s side looked capable of scoring every time they came forward.
Credit: @NUFC
From yet another Newcastle corner, Schar rose to meet the ball, completely unmarked. He headed into the far corner with Vicario unable to do anything about it. For so many of the hosts’ goals, Vicario had been more like a voyeur than a keeper.
It proved to be an impressive victory for Eddie Howe’s side and gave their fans a glimpse of the side who had qualified for the Champions League themselves last season. The win took The Magpies to sixth in the table, making European qualification a realistic ambition for the season once again.
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