The Intensity of Tottenham Hotspur’s Defeat: A Post-Match Analysis

TFD – Delve into the intense moments post-match as Tottenham Hotspur faces a challenging defeat.

Tottenham had not have as much of a bad year as they did the previous one. Cristian Stellini, Antonio Conte’s temporary replacement as manager, oversaw a 6-1 loss here almost exactly a year ago. That resulted in confirmation that something was terribly wrong in north London and started a series of events that ended with Ange Postecoglou giving the team new life.

Although still a work in progress, the Australian rescue and reform initiative appeared to be going well overall—that is, until Tottenham experienced a serious enough setback on Tyneside to jeopardize their chances of qualifying for the Champions League.

Many of Spurs’ supporters were confident when they arrived that Postecoglou’s novel approach to managing would significantly address the team’s ingrained problems and that Europe’s championship tournament was only around the corner. The taunts of Newcastle supporters, “Can we play you every week?” and “Tottenham Hotspur, it’s happening again,” lingered in their ears as they departed.

Spurs were plagued by memories of last April’s trip to Tyneside as Eddie Howe’s injury-ravaged team highlighted their desperation to qualify for the Europa League, Alexander Isak appeared capable of beating Manchester City’s Erling Haaland to the golden boot, and Anthony Gordon appeared set to secure a spot on England’s flight to Euro 2024 in Germany.

No matter Newcastle enjoyed a mere 27% of possession, an unusual tactical shift on Howe’s part proved thoroughly inspired as Postecoglou suffered the worst defeat of his Tottenham tenure.

It seemed like a risky move at first when Newcastle’s manager quickly moved Jacob Murphy forward to switch from a 4-3-3 to a 3-4-3 formation. But after his team scored twice in a span of two minutes, it appeared as though Howe was an expert at what he was doing.

In both goals, Micky van de Ven stumbled and fell at the exact wrong time. As Newcastle pressed high and hard, the defender’s first error allowed Isak to direct a shot past Guglielmo Vicario’s reach, and the second allowed the remarkable Gordon to send another one curling into the back of the net from a tight angle.

In addition to his goal, Gordon deserves praise for dodging Destiny Udogie and setting up the Sweden striker with a deft ball just prior to the first goal, which came from Isak being put onside by the unfortunate Van de Ven. Isak is the best striker in England at the moment.

Although James Maddison’s obvious bodycheck of Gordon left him infuriated, for extended periods of time that was as close as any of Tottenham’s players got to the elusive winger. While this was going on, Isak continued to give off his signature gazelle impression to the commentators and nearly scored a few more goals before halftime.

He and Gordon had undoubtedly presented a compelling case for the view that possessions may not always be valuable. Spurs monopolised it but with Van de Ven enduring the sort of game in which calamity stalked his every intervention, it will be no surprise if his nightmares are inhabited by mortifying flashbacks of the two forwards outmanoeuvring him at every counterattack.

It became worse for Van van Ven and his friends as Elliot Anderson of Newcastle was playing brilliantly at left wing-back. Isak was put clean through after Bruno Guimarães divided the defense with a standard lofted through ball, leaving the careless Dutchman trailing behind and only Vicario to beat.

With his fifth goal in the last four games and his 17th goal in the Premier League this season, the Swede made no mistakes. If this keeps up, Haaland might soon lose ground to rival nations in the standings.

Emil Krafth struck a post, maybe trying not to get too close to the action, but Fabian Schär, his skilled central defensive partner, scored the fourth. Schär is a credible candidate for Newcastle’s player of the season, even though he may not get as much recognition as Gordon and Isak. He completed yet another outstanding afternoon as he stood unmarked and headed his team’s fourth goal from Gordon’s corner.

It spoke volumes when, during an altercation after the final whistle with Brazil’s Guimarães, the Argentinian midfielder Giovani Lo Celso displayed more aggression than anyone in a Tottenham shirt had exhibited over the preceding 90 minutes.