Tottenham Hotspur suffered a 2-1 home defeat to Newcastle United on Saturday lunchtime, prompting Spurs coach Ange Postecoglou to take a closer look.
The north London team struck the first blow in a typically chaotic first ten minutes. Dominic Solanke got ahead of Sven Botman, who was back in the starting line-up for the first time in almost ten months after tearing his cruciate ligament, and nodded in in the fourth minute after a wonderful cross from Pedro Porro.
Newcastle weren’t far behind – just two minutes and 20 seconds to be exact. Lucas Bergvall had provided the burst of energy that led to Tottenham’s opener, but was responsible for a bad pass in the build-up to Anthony Gordon’s equalizer. The young Swede was robbed by Joelinton on the edge of his own penalty area, giving Newcastle possession which Gordon took advantage of with a crisp shot into the bottom corner.
An increasingly under-pressure Postecoglou cut an animated figure on the touchline and called for a review of the incident after noticing the ball had hit Joelinton’s arm before making its way to Gordon. The goal was allowed to stand because VAR “considered his arm was at his side, in a natural position and the contact was accidental,” the Premier League said in a statement.
Newcastle gained confidence with the equalizer and took the lead in the 38th minute thanks to the reliable Alexander Isak. The in-form striker found the back of the net in his seventh consecutive league game, thumping Jacob Murphy’s low cross past Tottenham’s third goalkeeper Brandon Austin.
After the break, Spurs increased the pressure in search of an equalizer. Brennan Johnson hit the post and club captain Son Heung-min – who surprisingly started the contest on the bench – missed the target with a late shot.
Despite their best efforts, there was no breakthrough for Tottenham, who are still waiting for a Premier League win in front of their own fans since beating Aston Villa in the hazy days of early November.
*Reviews provided by FotMob*
player | Evaluation |
|---|---|
GK: Brandon Austin | 6.8/10 |
RB: Pedro Porro | 7.7/10 |
CB: Radu Dragusin | 5.7/10 |
CB: Archie Grey | 5.8/10 |
LB: DJed Spence | 6.8/10 |
CM: Lucas Bergvall | 5.7/10 |
CM: Dad Sarr | 5.7/10 |
AM: 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 (TW), Alfie Dorrington, Malachi Hardy, Callum Olusesi, Will Lankshear
*Reviews provided by FotMob*
player | Evaluation |
|---|---|
GK: Martin Dubravka | 7.7/10 |
RB: Tino Livramento | 7.9/10 |
CB: Sven Botmann | 7.6/10 |
CB: Dan Burn | 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 Isaac | 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 |
Substitutes not used: Odisseas Vlachodimos, Kieran Trippier, Lewis Miley, Miguel Almiron, William Osula