Newcastle 4-0 Tottenham: Player ratings as Isak punishes woeful Spurs performance
Newcastle United took another huge step towards European qualification when they beat Tottenham 4-0 at St James' Park on Saturday lunchtime.
The Magpies punished some dismal Spurs defending during an end-to-end first half, Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon firing home from close range within two minutes of one another.
Isak proved the thorn in Spurs' side again after the break and netted early in the second half to secure a crucial three points for the hosts, with Fabian Schar rubbing salt in the Spurs wounds with a late header.
Injuries forced Eddie Howe into a formation change forSpurs' visit, with Newcastle starting with three at the back. It made for an entertaining and open start to proceedings, with Timo Werner firing the first opportunity of the game over the crossbar from close range.
Werner was guilty of spurning another promising opening shortly afterwards and the German's wastefulness was punished on the half-hour mark by Isak. The Swede was released by Gordon's through ball and proceeded to sit Micky van de Ven on the ground before firing a brilliant effort beyond Guglielmo Vicario.
It took just over a minute for Newcastle to double their lead as memories of last season's 6-1 defeat in this fixture started to flood the brains of the Tottenham players. Pedro Porro's awful back pass was pounced upon by Gordon inside the penalty area, with the winger skinning Van de Ven again before curling into the back of the net.
Isak was close to grabbing his second as Spurs' defence was split open once more, but a last-ditch challenge from Destiny Udogie spared the visitors' blushes. The forward continued to torment the Lilywhites as the half drew to a close, heading just wide from a corner after an impressive leap.
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