Newcastle stun Tottenham in London to secure first win

Newcastle United have stunned Tottenham in London to take all three points home.

Newcastle United hoped to rebound from their loss at Norwich City last weekend with a positive result against Tottenham and they did just that. Most pundits predicted Tottenham to win this match by three or four goals, but defensive discipline and a wonderful strike from Joelinton gifted the Magpies with three points in London.

First Half

The opening ten minutes of this match was all Tottenham, literally. The Magpies spent the first ten minutes in their own half chasing the ball and only managed to complete 18 passes. Allan Saint-Maximin, who made his first start of the season, went down in the 14th minute holding his hamstring and he was replaced by Christian Atsu.

Newcastle United received a scare in the 19th minute when Fabian Schar’s sliding tackle took Lucas Moura down in the box, but Schar’s challenge was clean and got the ball. Sean Longstaff nearly opened the scoring in the 22nd minute when Sean Longstaff fired a cracking shot from 18 yards out, but Hugo Lloris got a hand on it to force a corner kick.

Despite Tottenham’s management of the game, Newcastle United did a solid job of spreading the ball around in the 27th minute when Christian Atsu found a wide open Joelinton in the middle of the box and the Brazilian scored with ease from 10 feet away.

The Magpies’ goal sparked a sense of urgency for Tottenham as they kept launching balls into the box. Son Heung-min nearly scored the equalizer in the 31st minute, but Martin Dubravka made an acrobatic save to keep it out.

Over the next few minutes Tottenham continued to send the ball out wide and delivered quality crosses in the box, with Lucas Moura almost getting on the end of a few, but Fabian Schar and Paul Dummett continued to impress with their quick reactions and tight marking.

In total, Newcastle United created four chances with two on target. For all the possession Tottenham maintained, the home side only took three shots and their key player Harry Kane only got five touches on the ball in the opening 45 minutes.

Second Half

The narrative remained unchanged in the opening ten minutes of the second half. Newcastle United were disciplined and determined to close any open lanes while Tottenham swung the ball side to side trying to create a chance out of nothing. The first shot in the second half came from Moura in the 55th minute.

Newcastle United had a brilliant chance to make it 2-0 in the 61st minute. Atsu launched an accurate diagonal cross for Joelinton in the box, but Joelinton’s soft volley was saved by Lloris. A minute later, Christian Eriksen came on as a substitute to loud cheers from the home supporters.

Matt Ritchie intercepted a dangerous pass out on the wing and orchestrated a good looking counter-attack in which he picked out Joelinton, but the Brazilian fell to the ground holding his groin. He was on the ground for three minutes until the medical team helped him walk off the pitch. He managed to return to action in the 71st minute.

VAR finally came into play in this match in the 77th minute when Jamaal Lascelles and Harry Kane both went down in the penalty box. After a minute-long review, the official stance was no penalty for Tottenham. Lascelles limped off the pitch and this left Newcastle United with one less defender in the box, which enabled Moura to fire a dangerous shot, but it went over the bar.

Newcastle United almost extended their lead in the final stages of the match when Joelinton set Miguel Almiron up for a wonderful shot at the edge of the box, but the Paraguayan’s effort only earned a corner kick.

Due to a few injuries and two water breaks, the officials decided to add six minutes of stoppage time. Tottenham did their best to create multiple chances to get the equalizer, but it never came. The Magpies defensive stability earned them a crucial, unexpected victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

What’s Next?

Newcastle United are set to play twice this week. On Wednesday, the Magpies will play against Leicester City in the second round of the Carabao Cup. On Saturday, Newcastle United at will host Watford for what is considered to be a must-win game for both of these teams after getting off to slow starts this season.