Tottenham came from a goal behind to breeze past Newcastle 5-1 at home on Sunday to leapfrog Arsenal into fourth place in the Premier League.
Antonio Conte’s troops rebounded back from a goal down to clinch a resounding 5-1 victory and go ahead of Arsenal into fourth place on goal difference ahead of the Gunners’ trip to Crystal Palace on Monday. As far as Newcastle are concerned, the hammering at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur made it three defeats on the spin for Eddie Howe’s side.
Tottenham dominated the opening exchanges of the first half but had no gilt-edged chances to show for it. In fact, it was Newcastle who could have broken the deadlock on 22 minutes through Joe Willock if it was not for a vital last-ditch Cristian Romero block.
The visitors grew into the match as the half wore on and ultimately took the lead in the 38th minute through Fabian Schar, whose low curling free-kick was too strong for Hugo Lloris to handle. The lead did not last too long, however, as Spurs hit back immediately when Ben Davies nodded in Son Heung-min’s cross to make it 1-1.
And after a half-time team talk from Conte, Tottenham managed to turn the tide just after the restart, with Harry Kane dropping deep into spaces while Son and Kulusevski were on their bikes working the channels. Spurs were rampant and picked apart Newcastle after that as goals from Matt Doherty, Son, Emerson Royal, and Steven Bergwijn propelled them to a massive 5-1 victory.
It was a complete defensive collapse from Eddie Howe’s side in the second half against a free-scoring Tottenham unit, who have now netted 21 goals in their last six Premier League games. The Hard Tackle will now run the rule over both sets of players in what was a rather comfortable win for Conte’s men in the end.
Tottenham Hotspur
Hugo Lloris: 6/10
The French international should have perhaps done better on Fabian Schar’s free-kick goal, albeit there was a lot of traffic that may have blocked his vision. Otherwise, he did not have much more to do as that set-piece was the only time Newcastle only posted a shot on target.
Cristian Romero: 8/10
It was another solid and dominant outing from Romero, who is growing by the game. He was aggressive and authoritative and usually succeeded in his duels against Allan Saint-Maximin and Chris Wood. Some of his tackles and blocks were really eye-catching, including when he denied Willock a certain goal. He was also composed with the ball at his feet and often roamed into the Newcastle half.
Eric Dier: 6/10
Eric Dier looked a bit unsure during the opening 30 minutes or so, but he settled down, and after the interval, he did not put a foot wrong. He has grown so much since Conte took over and it showed on Sunday as he organised things at the back, as well as being very good on the ball.
Ben Davies: 7/10
Ben Davies had a shaky start to the game but made up for it by heading home Tottenham’s equaliser before half-time. The Welshman deserves a lot of credit for that as it proved to be the turning point in the game. After scoring, he was solid defensively and played a steady second half.
Emerson Royal: 7/10
Emerson made several erroneous passes early on, while he offered little in the way of attacking threat for an hour. But he grew into the game, worked hard, and earned his first goal for the club, popping up at the near post to tap in Doherty’s cross over the line.
Rodrigo Bentancur: 7.5/10
Bentancur, as usual, was supremely composed in possession and showcased some neat turns and passes over the top but, at times, held onto the ball for too much. He also picked up a yellow card in the first half after a brawl with Saint-Maximin. Nevertheless, he did his part defensively, moving up and down the field and has significantly impacted the side since arriving from Juventus.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg: 7/10
Hojbjerg maintained his strong form with another composed and combative performance in the engine room. Provided much-needed physicality to shut Newcastle’s midfield and control the game. While he gave up possession unnecessarily a few times, he settled down well after the break.
Matt Doherty: 9/10
Let’s keep pushing @SpursOfficial pic.twitter.com/GR0aHqqA8G
— Matt Doherty (@mattdoherty20) April 3, 2022
Despite being forced to play left wing-back, Doherty finished with a goal and an assist to continue his resurgence under Conte. The Irishman has shown an amazing effort to resurrect his falling Spurs career and now looks like a man reborn.
He was composed, calm, and defensively sound, while also providing Spurs with a steady outlet moving forward. He produced a smart finish for his goal with a glancing header from a fantastic Kane cross, while his assist for Emerson’s goal was just exquisite.
Dejan Kulusevski: 8/10
Kulusevski was a vital cog of Tottenham’s relentless attacking surges in the second half. He knitted the midfield and attack and carved out decent openings, crossing superbly for Son’s goal in the 54th minute. The Swede also played a hand in Tottenham’s fourth goal and created four chances in all, as many as all of Newcastle players combined. He really complements very well alongside Kane and Son in a trio upfront.
Harry Kane: 9/10
Harry Kane’s last 8 Premier League games for Tottenham:
⚽️⚽️ vs Man City
❌ vs Burnley
⚽️?️ vs Leeds
⚽️⚽️ vs Everton
⚽️ vs Man Utd
⚽️ vs Brighton
?️?️ vs West Ham
?️ vs NewcastleRidiculous form. ? pic.twitter.com/5IRGIonQUT
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) April 3, 2022
Kane did not look threatening enough in the first half, with Newcastle jamming the box to reduce the spaces to run in behind. But that definitely was not the scene in the second period, as the England skipper dropped deep in between the lines and showed his class as a top-notch playmaker.
He crossed a teasing ball for Doherty’s goal and was part of the slick move for Son’s goal, while he could have added another assist, later on, putting Son through on goal with an exquisite pass from his own half. However, the South Korean was unable to convert the opportunity.
Son Heung-min: 9/10
Son was kept quiet by Newcastle’s backline in the first half and he carelessly handed away the free-kick for Schar’s goal. But the forward quickly made amends for it, curling in a probing cross into the box for Davies to head home the equaliser.
In the second half, the South Korean was in his groove again and looked dangerous, with goals and assists flowing freely for Spurs. He took his goal very well but was a tad wasteful in front of the goal and could have scored more than once. Nonetheless, Son delivered another electrifying performance.
◻️ Heung-Min Son vs Newcastle:
⚽️ Goals: 1️⃣
?️ Assists: 1️⃣Shots: 4️⃣ (2nd)
Shots In The Box: 2️⃣ (=2nd)
Chances Created: 5️⃣ (1st)
Big Chances Created: 1️⃣ (2nd)
xGI 1.20 (1st)Second consecutive double-digit haul.#FPL #FPLCommunity pic.twitter.com/UHYbgMZXMY
— FPL SW⚽️T (-1️⃣8️⃣0️⃣) (@FPLSWOT) April 3, 2022
Substitutes
Harry Winks: 6/10
Winks brought some fresh legs to Spurs midfield for the final 15 minutes or so. He also tried his luck from range immediately after coming on and just missed.
Lucas Moura: 7/10
The Brazilian came off the bench to put on a lively cameo with some driving runs and played a cute little pass to put Bergwijn through for the fifth goal.
Steven Bergwijn: 7/10
It was an outstanding cameo from the Dutchman, which would do his confidence a world of good. He latched onto the through pass from Lucas and buried it confidently.
Newcastle United
Martin Dubravka: 3/10
Dubravka was by far the busier of the two goalkeepers and faced up the majority of Spurs’ pressure in the first half. The Slovakian goalkeeper could not have done anything about any of the goals as he was left scrambling, helpless and completely exposed by his defence in the second half.
Javier Manquillo: 2/10
Favoured over Emil Krafth at right-back, Manquillo had a torrid evening down in north London. The Spaniard was worryingly poor both in attack and defence. He was the culprit for Spurs’ second goal as he was caught napping, allowing Doherty to sneak in behind him and score a header.
Fabian Schar: 5/10
Newcastle witnessed both the good and ugly side of Schar at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The Swiss picked out the far corner with a wonderful low free-kick to give Newcastle the lead but cheaply gave the ball straight to Kulusevski in the build-up to Doherty’s goal, which set the tone for a poor second half.
Dan Burn: 2/10
Without a doubt, this was Dan Burn’s worst performance in black and white since signing from Brighton last January. Usually, very dominant in and around the box, he fared decently in the first half to keep the duo of Kane-Son reasonably quiet. But the 29-year-old was just all over the place in terms of positioning, and Spurs crucified him for his lack of pace after the break.
As much as I love Dan Burn, I think we can see why his signing was as a stop-gap for 6 months. We still need another left footed CB in our squad, and hopefully we go big for one in the summer. #NUFC
— Sanjay (@nufcsanjay) April 3, 2022
Matt Targett: 2/10
Targett has typically been a solid presence down the left, but his performance in north London was his poorest since joining the club on loan in January. Not only was he ineffective going forward, but he also struggled defensively against Kulusevski, who burst past him too easily for Son’s goal.
Davies beat him in the air for their equaliser, and Emerson outmuscled him for Tottenham’s fifth. Not to mention, he was all over the place positionally, leaving Burn exposed and helplessly chasing runs in behind. A really forgettable afternoon for the English full-back.
Jonjo Shelvey: 2/10
Since Howe’s arrival, Shelvey has been in good form, but this anonymous performance shows that it was more of false dawn than anything else. He was sloppy with his passing, and his long balls were wayward all game long. He could not even get close to the Spurs players around him and exert any form of control in the game. And it would not be a big surprise if Howe opts for Bruno Guimaraes from the start between now and the end of the season.
Guimaraes MUST start against Wolves.
Drop one of Shelvey/Joelinton/Willock who have all been atrocious today.#NUFC
— Mouth of the Tyne (@ToonMouthTyne) April 3, 2022
Joe Willock: 5/10
On a bleak afternoon for the Toon in terms of clear-cut chances, Willock had his moments and goalscoring opportunities to score. In the first half, an outstanding block from Romero denied him after some lovely footwork. Defensively, he was a part of the midfield that was totally overrun and carved open on a number of occasions in the second half.
Joelinton: 4/10
Joelinton had a bad day in the office, but so did every single one of his midfield partners. He battled away and put himself about but was living on the edge after picking up a yellow card for shoving Bentancur to the deck on the brink of half-time. Howe eventually hooked off him as a precautionary measure to avoid a second yellow.
Ryan Fraser: 3/10
Fraser’s final ball just was not there on the day. Defensively, he put in a lot of effort, yet Spurs did get plenty of joy down his and Manquillo’s side. Moreover, the Scotsman never got into a favourable one-vs-one situation with Doherty and failed to produce anything of notice.
Chris Wood: 4/10
Wood could not get hold of the ball as much and was largely isolated and ineffective. He won a few headers and worked hard but did not get any real service to work with before being replaced by Jamaal Lascelles at the 70th-minute mark.
Allan Saint-Maximin: 4/10
Saint-Maximin was determined to prove some of his doubters wrong, but for all his good defensive work and tracking back in the first half, he lost the ball far too often, giving it away cheaply in the build-up to Tottenham’s fifth. And while he looked dangerous whenever he got the ball, the Frenchman also gave Kulusevski and Emerson too much space to get behind him and cause menace in the second period.
Substitutes
Jacob Murphy: 3/10
You would be forgiven for not knowing Jacob Murphy was substituted in on the hour mark, as the wing-back literally offered next to nothing and had no impact on the game.
Bruno Guimaraes: 5/10
Guimaraes was brought on to bring more control to the game and offered some composure, but it was too late as the damage was already done and dusted by the time of his introduction.
Jamaal Lascelles: 4/10
Lascelles was introduced by Howe to limit the damage done, but he practically stood off for the fifth goal.
