Newcastle scored five goals in 21 minutes as they produced one of the high-scoring football results of the weekend in the Premier League. For the first time since January 2022, Spurs resorted to a back four, but interim manager Cristian Stellini’s tactical strategy was destroyed right away as Newcastle ran wild to move up to third and improve their own chances of securing Champions League participation. Against the poor visitors, the home team scored three goals in the opening nine minutes. After 62 seconds, Jacob Murphy converted a close-range opening goal, and nine minutes later, Joelinton extended the lead after Fabian Schar’s over-the-top pass set him up.
In front of the jubilant home crowd, Alexander Isak added a brilliant, quick-fire double. His second goal came on 21 minutes, making it the second-earliest that a Premier League team has ever built a five-goal lead. Fraser Forster replaced Spurs custodian Hugo Lloris for the second half, and although Harry Kane scored a well-taken consolation goal, a substitute goal by Callum Wilson restored Newcastle’s five-goal lead only 65 seconds later. Spurs fall six points behind Newcastle in the race for the Champions League spots as Newcastle celebrates a historic victory and surpasses Manchester United in third place. Their season has been in jeopardy as a result of the humiliating loss, which came only one week after their dramatic home loss to Bournemouth.
With Fabio Paratici quitting from his position as managing director on Friday, Spurs faced another hectic week off the pitch. The chaos in the background was reflected in a stunning start at St James’ Park. Almost immediately after the game began, Murphy scored from a short distance after Joelinton had been given the freedom to come inside from the left without any opposition and hit a low shot that was only momentarily blocked by a diving Lloris. It provided a framework for what would follow. In only four more minutes, Schar fired a long, speculative pass over the top of the Spurs’ defense to Joelinton, who was once more untracked by the helpless Pedro Porro.
When Murphy’s powerful long-range strike found the far corner for the third goal moments later, after Spurs had given up possession in their own half, the fans on both sides were already in a state of disbelief. The winger stood open-mouthed in celebration as Lloris stayed rooted to the spot. Spurs made a brief threat at the other end when Kane nearly missed the target after an Oliver Skipp cut-back, but their misery had only just begun as Isak added a fourth goal after a break thanks to Joe Willock’s incredible outside-of-the-boot ball. Newcastle showed no compassion as the shell-shocked Spurs players quarreled among themselves. Isak scored Newcastle’s second and fifth goals off a cut-back from Sean Longstaff.
At that moment, Stellini abandoned his back four and substituted Davison Sanchez—a player who had been jeered off the pitch by his own fans against Bournemouth the previous weekend—in favor of Pape Sarr as they switched to a five in an effort to minimize the damage. But despite Eric Dier and Cristian Romero’s poor play in the center of the Spurs defense and Porro and Ivan Perisic’s appalling play in the full-back positions, Newcastle, who lost to Aston Villa 3-0 in their last match, continued to attack them.
Newcastle played with Spurs in the last minutes of the first half, drawing audible olés from the home crowd. The second half started with the announcement of a custodian substitution at halftime, with Forster taking over for the injured, five-times-beaten Lloris. When Kane scored his wonderful consolation goal, Spurs briefly appeared to have a chance to make the score more competitive. Kane’s low strike from a tight angle past Nick Pope, who was mainly a spectator. However, Newcastle maintained their lead, and Isak may have scored a hat-trick had he reacted a fraction quicker to Longstaff’s cross-shot that came just after Kane’s goal.
But it didn’t take long for the home team to score their sixth goal, which was scored by Isak’s replacement, Wilson, who prodded in a ball from fellow substitute Miguel Almiron inside the Spurs box. A Spurs defender cleared the ball off the line when Anthony Gordon, another replacement, was denied in the closing moments, but the five-goal margin of victory was more than enough to guarantee a celebration at St James’ Park. Spurs, however, are in disarray and no longer have a chance to salvage a top-four finish from a turbulent season.
For more football results, click here
