April 04, (THEWILL) – In Sunday’s English Premier League tie at the London grounds of Tottenham Hotspur, the hosts hammered Newcastle 5-1 to go into fourth position in the Premier League, leapfrogging city rivals Arsenal.
Antonio Conte’s side came back from a goal down to win emphatically, moving ahead of Mikel Arteta’s side on goal difference ahead of the Gunners’ Monday trip to Crystal Palace.
Tottenham’s Harry Kane pulled a shot wide at the end of a tense first 15 minutes in which they struggled to break through Newcastle’s well-organised low block.
Soon after, an Eric Dier free-kick from just over 20 yards went wide, and Joe Willock’s close-range effort looked headed for the net if it had not been for Cristian Romero’s flying stop.
Son Heung-min tripped Willock on the edge of Spurs’ box soon before halftime, giving Newcastle the chance to take the lead. Hugo Lloris was unable to stop Fabian Schar’s curling free-kick, which sailed into his net.
The travelling Geordies’ celebrations were tempered by a lengthy VAR probe as the ball appeared to have grazed Chris Wood’s arm on its way in, but the goal was allowed to stand.
Spurs responded almost immediately, with Ben Davies looping in Son’s second cross from a corner.
Just after the break, Tottenham managed to turn the game around, with Kane dropping into the right channel and crossing for his South Korean attack partner, but he was unable to get a touch on it, and instead Matt Doherty arrived at the far post to head home.
The ruthless hosts added a third when Kane released Dejan Kulusevski on the break and into acres of space, and Son controlled the Swede’s cross brilliantly before slamming it past Dubravka.
Spurs added a fourth goal through Emerson Royal, who placed himself in front of Targett to stab in at the near post from a wonderful dink by Doherty after a period of Newcastle pressure.
Kane soon sent Son sprinting away again, and it was a shock that he did not score his second of the day. However, Spurs fans were having a good time and Newcastle were falling under the weight of the sheer quality of Conte’s charges.
Steven Bergwijn, who had bemoaned his lack of club game time earlier in the week, added a fifth when Lucas Moura’s exquisite pass put him through on goal, and the in-form Dutchman made no mistake.
Spurs won their first league double against Newcastle since the 2018/2019 season, as the hosts’ winning streak and the visitors’ losing streak both reached three games, concurrently.
Spurs will gladly hold on to third place until the Gunners visit Palace tomorrow. Tottenham’s next match is against Aston Villa. As for Newcastle, they drop to 15th place, nine points above the relegation zone. On Friday, they will try to turn things around against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
