With Newcastle mathematically safe from relegation and Tottenham almost certainly out of reach of a Champions League qualifying spot, only table points and bragging rights were at stake when Tottenham arrived in Newcastle. Serge Aurier started the match a few days after his brother was assassinated in France, a decision that we hope will be his and will give him some comfort. Our thoughts remain with the Aurier family. Hugo Lloris, Davinson Sánchez, Toby Alderweireld and Ben Davies joined Aurier on defense, with Harry Winks and Giovani Lo Celso ahead. Tottenham’s attack was a diamond led by Harry Kane, with Heung-min Son and Lucas Moura on the wings and Moussa Sissoko moving from the depths. Two former Spurs players showed up for Newcastle, defender Deandre Yedlin and Sherwood-era midfielder Nabil Bentaleb.
The first half generally lived up to the promise of boredom, with rare moments of excitement stemming from Heung-min Son’s unsuspecting goal for Tottenham and some efforts by Newcastle, including wondrous tests by star Allan Saint-Maximin and a head butt off the post. by Dwight Gayle. Spurs defended cautiously, with Newcastle struggling to find a way and slowly advanced in the attack. Except for Son’s effort, Tottenham seemed completely toothless in front of the goal. Two goals in the first fifteen minutes of the second half slightly accelerated the pace. Newcastle’s first substitute, Valentino Lazaro, ran through the Spurs defense, causing problems that ended with a punt by Aurier. Matt Ritchie pounced on the ball and shot home past Lloris, tying the game at 55 minutes. Only five minutes later, Spurs’ substitute Steven Bergwijn hit a perfect cross for Harry Kane, whose powerful header was his goal number two hundred. Kane sealed the game for the Spurs with a second goal in the 89th minute after he found Lamela in midfield, who cut through Newcastle’s defense and shot Dúbravka. The rebound fell perfectly on Kane, who scored Newcastle 1 – Tottenham 3 but appeared to be injured along the way. Newcastle didn’t play that well, and if they had, the Spurs might have been in trouble, but a lukewarm soccer day victory leaves Spurs supporters with little less to complain about.
First half:
5 ‘—Almirón is in space on the edge of Tottenham’s penalty area and his volley is the first effort of the match, blocked by Davinson Sánchez. Newcastle executes a clever piece on the resulting corner kick, but Almirón shoots well.
10 ‘—Allan Saint-Maximin runs to the Spurs’ defense from midfield, deftly pushing the ball around Lo Celso while going in the opposite direction. He looks good.
14 ‘- Tottenham seems happy to absorb the pressure, almost as if they were executing a defensive exercise on training ground.
18 ‘- A good dribble from Sissoko causes a Newcastle player to slip.
22 ‘- Heung-min Son makes a good move as he dribbles across the field to the right wing, then plays a diagonal ball to put Moura in. The pass is seen in a corner.
26 ‘- GOAL OF TOTTENHAM! Newcastle 0-1 Tottenham. They complete a series of short passes that started with Moura retrieving the ball on the field and then finding Kane, who found Lo Celso, who pitted Son one-on-one against Yedlin. He did well to find room to shoot and managed a good shot to beat Martin Dúbravka. Ironically, Moura’s pressure that triggered the movement was more reminiscent of Pochettino’s style of soccer than Mourinho’s.
29 ‘- Heung-min Son shoots from afar, and a deflection by Emil Krafth almost beats Dúbravka.
30 ‘- Toby Alderweireld picks up a reserve after he lands on Matt Ritchie’s foot in a fair challenge.
33 ‘- Kane seems to be gesturing for Sissoko to play behind the Newcastle line, but Sissoko only runs halfway.
34 ‘- Lo Celso falls clutching his cheek after Federico Férnández hits him in the face with a forearm. Férnandez receives a reservation; Lo Celso is up and moving. There is no lasting damage.
41 ‘- A header by Dwight Gayle at the end of a cross by Jonjo Shelvey defeats Tottenham defense and Hugo Lloris, but is far from the post. Only fortune saved the Spurs’ leadership there.
Second half:
50 ‘- Kane receives the ball at the top of Newcastle’s penalty area and wastes time instead of sliding it towards Son. By the time he crosses the field back to Moura, Newcastle has returned to defend himself.
54 ‘- Former Spurs player Deandre Yedlin leaves for Newcastle, replaced by Valentino Lazaro.
55 ‘- Goal by Newcastle. 1-1. Matt Ritchie takes advantage of a poor clearance by Aurier after Lazarus launched himself through Tottenham’s defense. He had too long to line up his shot, but when he took it, it was a powerful and precise blast beyond Lloris.
55 ‘- Steven Bergwijn has replaced Lucas Moura after Newcastle’s goal.
59 ‘- GOAL SPURS! Newcastle 1-2 Spurs. Harry Kane scores his 200th career goal with a header at the end of a brilliant cross by Steven Bergwijn, who turned and found Kane with incredible precision. Kane’s movement may have slowed down this year, but its completion was the point here.
61 ‘- Giovani Lo Celso gives way to his Argentine teammate, Erik Lamela. Lo Celso was playing deeper than Lamela tends, so this could be an attack move by Mourinho. Either way, it gives the midfielder frame by frame a well-deserved break.
64 ‘- Jonjo Shelvey takes a yellow card for raking his tacks down the back of Steven Bergwijn’s leg.
85 ‘- Former Spurs player Bentaleb is replaced by Matt Longstaff for Newcastle. It has been a rather shy twenty minutes, with a few moments of brilliance from Allan Saint-Maximin, all to report as Tottenham prepared to defend himself.
89 ‘- Goal Spurs! Kane played against Lamela at halftime, then continued his career, and after Lamela took the shot, Kane was able to lead the rebound from close range. Kane was down clutching his side after the end, and has replaced Vertonghen. It seems to be fine from the bench.
94 ‘- Allan Saint-Maximin is behind Tottenham’s goal, breathing hard while looking completely out of fuel.
95 ‘- Full time.
Takeaway:
- Against Newcastle, who moved the ball slowly at times, it was noted that Mourinho appears to have trampled on any impulse to regain the ball with defensive pressure that could be delayed in Pochettino’s training. The Spurs players are barely making a tackle, but are simply running with their man. Gone are the days of a recovery of possession in midfield and a quick and committed attack. Today, even over long periods of possession, Tottenham struggled to engage players high enough to create significant attack opportunities.
- What do we do with Harry Kane? He moved and finished well for his first goal, and worked hard to create and secure the second, but was essentially invisible, except for these few moments. Kane often moves slowly, jogs around the field as his teammates run, and is struggling to find the space necessary for him to become a target once again. At the same time, perhaps the Spurs players could have chosen it better. Kane’s role on the side needs to be examined and clarified, and if he remains on the field, the team must work harder to overcome it, because he seems to retain the final skill that made him an elite striker for several seasons.
- Without a crowd or a place in the Champions League to play, it’s hard to imagine a drastic change in Tottenham’s style between now and the end of the season. That’s bad news for fans, as this was the latest installment in a series of pretty monotonous performances since the reboot. Both sides, but particularly the Spurs, seemed to be playing with only 85% of maximum effort. If there is hunger in the Tottenham lineup, it must have been trained for submission.
- Allan Saint-Maximin is a force to be reckoned with, turning and moving away from the defenders and finding significant exits from the space he generates. He is the type of player that is exciting to imagine in the Spurs, but that we rarely have.