Newcastle United 2-3 Tottenham Hotspur: 5 Talking Points as Spurs spoil the party for Toons' new owners | Premier League 2020-21
Tottenham Hotspur forged arguably their best attacking display of the season to beat Newcastle United 3-2 on Sunday. The win came on a historic evening at St. James' Park in the Premier League.
Goals from Tanguy Ndombele, Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min were enough to secure Spurs' third consecutive win in all competitions. As for the Magpies, they are still without a win this season.
Callum Wilson scored very early on, whilst Eric Dier briefly brought Newcastle back into the game with a late own goal. Off a free-kick and under no pressure, Dier failed to sort out his defensive position and turned the ball into his own net.
Just when one thought it couldn't have gotten any worse, Jonjo Shelvey picked up a second yellow card 10 minutes to full-time to add to the Toons' misery.
Regardless of what the future beholds following the change of ownership, Bruce and Co. will know they have a herculean task ahead. They have no wins and have the Premier League's most generous defense this term, having conceded 19. A period of transition that is heavily dependent on survival marks the start of this new period for relegation-threatened Newcastle.
On that note, we shall have a rundown of the major talking points from Spurs' win over Newcastle.
#1 Steve Bruce recalls Wilson for historic game
It was no surprise to see the ebullient Newcastle faithful produce a deafening noise at kick-off, as the Toons lined up for their first game under new ownership.
There was a sense of ambition, transformation and an obvious nostalgia for all the years Newcastle United ruled the English footballing landscape. Everyone wanted to be in and around St. James' Park. Such was the occasion that even Sir John Hall, former president of the club, was there to witness the onset of a new period across Tyneside.
Steve Bruce accomplished a personal milestone himself, managing his 1000th game in football.
He made a couple of changes to the team that lost narrowly to Wolves, recalling star forward Callum Wilson to the starting XI. Wilson is one of the players expected to stay put and remain at the heart of the project.
Skipper Jamaal Lascelles also returned to shepherd the back line.
Nice to see Sir John Hall in the stands today as well. To witness the start of a new era. #nufc
#2 Newcastle kickstarts the new era with an early goal
It was very easy to jump into tackles and commit errors with all the adrenaline pumped into the field by such a vocal crowd. However, Newcastle kept it simple and stuck to the basics.
Barely a couple of minutes in, Wilson was there to nod home the opener into the back of the net with a smart header. There was nothing exuberant about the play. Joelinton picked up the ball in a half-space, jogged his way infield under no pressure and passed it to Willock.
Newcastle's players side-passed their way to the right wing, where Javier Manquillo came rushing. The full-back whipped the ball in first time, and Wilson cleverly ran across the Spurs centre-halves to score the first goal of the game.
From Tottenham's perspective, it was extremely poor and static from their midfielders who did not apply any kind of pressure on their opponents. As far as Christian Romero and Eric Dier are concerned, there was a clear lack of communication between the two.
#nufc https://t.co/YAtmF5Wmnj