How high could Newcastle’s roof be? Victory at third-placed Tottenham meant they finished the weekend in the Premier League’s top four. With wins against Aston Villa, Southampton and Crystal Palace ahead of a pre-World Cup clash with Chelsea, Newcastle can be firmly in the Champions League overhaul as they head into training camp in Saudi winter for “football reasons”. What a difference a change of ownership, a year and a £200m transfer fee makes. Beating an opponent they had prevailed once in 10 games since 2016 was recorded as a declared win.
Meanwhile, Tottenham’s place in the Champions League standings, as best of the rest behind Manchester City and Arsenal, is becoming precarious. Antonio Conte’s bid to freshen up his squad after a midweek underperformance at Manchester United fell flat against an aggressive and organized opposition. And one with quality.
Callum Wilson’s opener after being denied by a disoriented Hugo Lloris was brilliant, while Miguel Almirón’s flick from the right of the penalty area was that of a player in the form of a lifetime. Two players Howe inherited as goalscorers and the continued improvements from Steve Bruce/Mike Ashley legacies like Joelinton and Sean Longstaff speak volumes for his coaching abilities.
Among the faithful at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, doubts about Conte are beginning to crystallize. Tottenham, at least, started brightly, Son Heung-min skating in to fire in a shot from the first minute. Emerson Royal’s effort went off the bar moments later. There was an excitement here that had not been seen at Old Trafford. And, after Newcastle had a penalty shout when Joelinton was blocked, an incident that had Howe and assistant Jason Tindall in the fourth official’s face, Son missed an even better chance thanks to a combination of wobble and Nick Pope reading his broken attempt.
There had been fears that Bruno Guimarães could be lost after becoming a father for the first time. The new father starred in a dominant midfield alongside Joelinton. For Spurs, injuries to Pierre-Emile Højbjerg and Cristian Romero and that performance on Wednesday had prompted Conte to switch rings.
Oliver Skipp, a player who was once propitiated among the Spurs cognoscenti for a plane ticket to Qatar next month, has started since January. It wasn’t an entirely convincing comeback, Skipp subbed off after picking up a yellow card, as Tottenham continued to struggle in midfield even after Harry Kane had brought them back into the game. Yves Bissouma is another player whose Spurs career has stalled and, although it’s early days, his best performance at Tottenham Stadium in 2022 remains as a Brighton player in the Seagulls’ 1- 0 in April.
Harry Kane, dressed in white and smothered by Kieran Trippier, gets down to score and score the only goal of the game for Spurs, but they lose 2-1 Picture: Frank Augstein/AP
They may have the best goals against record in the division, but Newcastle had not come to defend. Almirón and Joe Willock, with Longstaff and Guimarães at the back, always looked to provide service to Wilson. A high press that saw Eric Dier make a mess of a first step back to Lloris also looked a worthy path to the haphazard creation.
That would prove it for the first goal. Fabian Schär’s spot-kick should have caused few problems, but with his defense square, Lloris rushed out, beat Wilson and handed the striker an open net. A lengthy VAR delay and a skirmish that saw Rodrigo Bentancur nearly lose his head did not rule out the goal. Then came Almirón’s excellent finish, set up by Longstaff but which left the Paraguayan with a lot to do.
After a biblical downpour at half-time that delayed half the crowd leaving the venue, and a handball claim after Guimarães had headed Davinson Sanchez, came Tottenham’s comeback attempt. Kane, crouched at the far post, nodded home from Sanchez’s strike, and after another lengthy VAR check, Spurs went back to work.
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Kane stayed at the heart, dropping deep as a playmaker and setting up Ivan Perisic, as a substitute, to hit straight at Pope. Lucas Moura was also introduced, Conte watching his carry as Newcastle began to sit on their lead and took their time during the breaks in play. Guimarães, who pointed to the corner flag to hold the ball with the full 10 minutes on the clock, showed desperation to run down the clock. Pope would eventually be booked for taking an improper time on a goal kick.
Dan Burn’s huge frame got in the way of a Son shot that claimed another handball as Spurs went ahead. The arrival of Matt Doherty and Ben Davies was Conte’s final roll of the dice, but frustration was building and Bentancur was on the rampage again, albeit this time when he overstepped a pass intended for Moura.
Stoppage time with more game management and proper defending, Newcastle could celebrate. The sky is starting to look like the limit.