After only 21 minutes, St James’ Park was ecstatic, unable to believe what it was seeing as Newcastle United raced to a 5-0 lead against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday before cruising to a 6-1 triumph.
It was difficult to think of a worse beginning for Spurs. According to the statistics website OptaJoe, there has only been one worse performance in the history of the Premier League, when Manchester City scored five goals in 19 minutes against Watford in September 2019.
The matchup between Newcastle and Spurs was billed as a matchup between teams in fourth and fifth place, separated by only three points, and with a spot in the Champions League for the next season on the line.
As Tottenham manager Cristian Stellini’s attempt with playing with a back four failed, it seemed as if Newcastle was playing in a different league in the first 20 minutes.
With their victory, the Magpies move up to third place in the league, now with a six-point cushion with a match remaining against Spurs, and they make significant progress towards earning their first Champions League qualifying in 20 years.
“It’s not often you have a start like that in a game, especially one of such importance,” said Eddie Howe, manager of Newcastle.
“I’m thrilled with the entire group; it was a true team effort,”
A minute had hardly passed when Joelinton slipped into the area, rifled the ball towards the goal, and Lloris’ parry dropped at Joe Murphy’s feet, who finished perfectly, and the floodgates opened.
A corner, a chance, or a shot on goal seemed to result from every attempt, and Newcastle kept up the pressure as Tottenham’s defence began to falter. In less than five minutes, Joelinton beat Lloris with a spectacular effort after Fabian Schär hoofed the ball upfield from the halfway line.
When Spurs lost control of the ball deep inside their own half due to shock, Murphy took advantage and sent the ball past Lloris for a third goal in less than 10 minutes.
Murphy told Sky Sports, “I wasn’t shocked; I was just thrilled to see it go in. When I hit it, I felt it was a clean stroke.
“It means everything; whether I’m starting or coming off the bench, I always want to add value,” the player said.
Ten minutes later, a single pass once again broke through Tottenham’s defence; this time, Joe Willock’s floating ball to Alexander Isak from the halfway line allowed the Swede to score.
Just two minutes after the game’s opening start, Isak added another goal, giving the Tyneside club five goals in 21 minutes.
After the break, Harry Kane scored a wonderful solo goal for Tottenham as he moved down the side and put the ball in the back of the net with ease.
But it didn’t matter because Callum Wilson scored his team’s sixth goal halfway through the second half to give Newcastle a five-goal lead once again.
With Aston Villa, Liverpool, and Brighton & Hove Albion all within striking distance of Tottenham in the Premier League standings as a consequence of the outcome, the club is on the verge of losing out on playing in Europe next season.
Lloris later said to Sky Sports that it was “extremely embarrassing.” “We have to apologise to the supporters. We didn’t put up a decent act, and our players couldn’t match Newcastle’s efforts.
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