Tottenham were beaten 2-1 by Newcastle United on Sunday, sending Ange Postecoglou’s side into the international break with only one win in their first three Premier League matches of the season.
Spurs had most of the ball but less of the bite as strikes from Harvey Barnes and Alexander Isak won it for the Magpies after Dan Burn’s own-goal temporarily levelled the contest.
With Newcastle clinching the spoils and Tottenham licking their wounds, Express Sport takes you through four key talking points from the match…
Spurs experiment flops
Postecoglou was forced to get creative in attack, with Dominic Solanke and Richarlison both out injured. He opted to field Dejan Kulusevski as a false nine, but the experiment only lasted until the half-time interval, at which point Son Heung-min was shifted to the centre. Ultimately, that lack of cutting edge in the first-half is part of the reason Spurs left St. James’ Park empty-handed.
£50m misjudgment exposed
Newcastle almost went for broke trying to get another winger through the door on deadline day, with a proposal for Anthony Elanga worth a reported £50million slapped down by Nottingham Forest.
At that price, Elanga would surely have been pushing for a spot in Eddie Howe’s starting line-up, likely on the opposite flank to Anthony Gordon. That spot was occupied by Harvey Barnes on Sunday, and he showed his manager that he needn’t have bothered with his failed deadline-day bid.
The 26-year-old is deadly around the box, and his finish to turn in Lloyd Kelly’s low cross was superb. Miguel Almiron and Jacob Murphy are in reserve, but Barnes should have done enough to keep his place in the side and help the fans forget about Elanga.
Tottenham star aces audition
There were glum faces among Spurs fans when their team sheet revealed that Micky van de Ven would not be fit enough to take his place at the back. His absence opened up a vacancy for Radu Dragusin to fill, and despite the result, he grasped the opportunity with both hands.
The Romanian has been desperate for chances to impress since signing from Genoa in January, but displacing Van de Ven or Cristian Romero has proved nigh on impossible.
Dragusin was mighty against the Magpies, competing well in aerial duels against Joelinton, showing nifty footwork and using his natural pace to his advantage. The highlight of the defender’s afternoon saw him make up significant ground on Isak before sliding in to make a potentially goal-saving block.
It remains to be seen whether Postecoglou can find space in his starting line-up to reward him after the international break.
Linesman trouble
There was a curious stoppage in the early stages of the game as linesman Ian Hussin suffered a freak injury. The official seemed to gesture towards his thigh area as both managers used the break in play to deliver instructions to their players. Hussin and fourth official Darren Bond eventually traded places on an unusual afternoon for those in charge of the contest.
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