Tottenham Hotspur were consigned to a 2-1 defeat at home to Newcastle United on Saturday lunchtime, prompting further scrutiny of Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou.
The north London outfit struck first in a typically chaotic opening ten minutes. Dominic Solanke beat Sven Botman, who was making his debut Premier League start in almost ten months after an ACL tear, to nod with Pedro Porro’s wonderful cross in the fourth minute.
Newcastle they weren’t far behind – just two minutes and 20 seconds, to be exact. Lucas Bergvall had injected the burst of energy that led to Tottenham’s opener but was responsible for a wayward pass in the build-up to Anthony Gordon’s equaliser. The young Swede was robbed by Joelinton on the edge of his own box, gifting possession to Newcastle, which Gordon capitalized on with a crisp drive into the bottom corner.
An increasingly low pressure Postecology cut an animated figure on the touchline, demanding a review of the incident after seeing the ball hit Joelinton’s arm before reaching Gordon. The goal was disallowed as the VAR “deemed his arm was at his side, in a natural position and the contact was accidental” according to a Premier League statement.
Newcastle took confidence from the equalizer and forced themselves in front in the 38th minute thanks to Alexander Isak’s reliable feed. The in-form striker found the net for a seventh consecutive league game, stabbing Jacob Murphy’s low cross beyond Tottenham’s third-choice goalkeeper Brandon Austin.
spurs increased the pressure in search of an equalizer after the interval. Brennan Johnson hit the post and club captain Son Heung-min, who surprisingly started the game on the bench, dragged a late effort wide.
Despite their best efforts, there was no way for Tottenham, who are still waiting for a Premier League win in front of their own fans since defeating Aston Villa in the heady days of early November.
|
player |
Valuation |
|---|---|
|
GC: Brandon Austin |
6.8/10 |
|
RB: Pedro Porro |
7.7/10 |
|
CB: Radu Dragusin |
5.7/10 |
|
CB: Archie Gray |
5.8/10 |
|
LB: Djed Spence |
6.8/10 |
|
CM: Lucas Bergvall |
5.7/10 |
|
CM: Pope Sarr |
5.7/10 |
|
A.M.: Dejan Kulusevski |
6.7/10 |
|
RW: Brennan Johnson |
7.1/10 |
|
ST: Dominic Solanke |
6.6/10 |
|
LW: Timo Werner |
6.2/10 |
|
SUB: Sergio Reguilon (46′ for Dragusin) |
7.2/10 |
|
SUB: James Maddison (62′ for Bergvall) |
6.2/10 |
|
SUB: Yves Bissouma (62′ for Sarr) |
6.8/10 |
|
SUB: Son Heung-min (62′ for Werner) |
6.9/10 |
Subs not used: Alfie Whiteman (GK), Alfie Dorrington, Malachi Hardy, Callum Olusesi, Will Lankshear
|
player |
Valuation |
|---|---|
|
GC: Martin Dubravka |
7.7/10 |
|
RB: Tino Livramento |
7.9/10 |
|
CB: Sven Botman |
7.6/10 |
|
CB: Dan Burns |
7.0/10 |
|
LB: Lewis Hall |
7.1/10 |
|
CM: Bruno Guimaraes |
7.9/10 |
|
CM: Sandro Tonali |
6.6/10 |
|
CM: Joelinton |
7.0/10 |
|
RW: Jacob Murphy |
6.9/10 |
|
ST: Alexander Isak |
7.7/10 |
|
LW: Anthony Gordon |
7.8/10 |
|
SUB: Harvey Barnes (78′ for Gordon) |
6.4/10 |
|
SUB: Joe Willock (86′ for Isak) |
N/A |
|
SUB: Sean Longstaff (86′ for Murphy) |
N/A |
|
SUB: Lloyd Kelly (90′ for Botman) |
N/A |
Unused subs: Odisseas Vlachodimos, Kieran Trippier, Lewis Miley, Miguel Almiron, William Osula
