Tottenham Hotspur faced a shocking defeat at home as Newcastle’s first-half goals sealed Champions League place. Antonio Conte is in trouble as many of his first team players missed the match due to injury.
Newcastle United doubled their lead before the first half, and Kane’s goal failed to inspire Spurs to get back into the game.
On paper, Tottenham were the better team, but both clubs were at the same level on the pitch. Needless to say, New Castle was brilliant in the game and their season is going well so far. Almiron’s close-angle shot five minutes before half-time was enough to secure an away win at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Conte said his team is suffering due to a tight schedule and injuries. Kuluvesky and Richarlison missed the game with injuries. Hojbjerg and Romero missed the match with injuries.
Injury-battered Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur line-ups
Conte was forced to use the usual 3-5-2 formation as in the previous game. Son and Kane led the attack. The team was more defensive, since it lacked attacking players.
Newcastle, meanwhile, were with their usual team without Isak. They came with the 4-3-3 lineup with Wilson, Joelinton and Almiron.
Tottenham Hotspur match day activity
In the first half, Tottenham had many chances but no goals came from their side. While Newcastle scored a controversial goal by fouling Lloris and Wilson gave the lead in the 31st minute, Almiron then also scored from a tight angle in the 40th minute.
During the second half, Kane scored from the corner with a diving header. And that was the ultimate goal of the match. But Wilson missed a golden opportunity to increase the goal difference.
In general, Tottenham were terrible defensively and Newcastle took advantage of that.
The Lillywhites had possession for 52% of the game, but their finishing wasn’t good enough. They also had a lot of wrong passes. Kane and his teammates had 5 shots on goal from 17 shots.
It was Nick Pope of The Magpies who played a brilliant game and saved some safe chances for the opponent. Newcastle controlled the game keeping 48% of the possession. But they had the same number of shots on goal as the Spurs.
Post-match interviews
During the post-match interview, Conte spoke about the team’s total commitment to the game. He revealed, “Fans have to understand that we are doing our best at every moment. The commitment was really high.”
He also pointed out the difference between his team and the title contenders. He added: “You see title contenders in these periods when you play every three days because you need to have depth in your squad. A strong and high quality template. We just started our process.”
In response to the controversial goal, Eddie Howe spoke: “I have not seen it since. It seemed that the two players got together. Why should that foul get in the way of the defending team?
Howe praised his team’s play. He spoke: “I thought it was a very, very good performance and probably the best since I’ve been here.”
What’s next for both teams?
Tottenham Hotspur will face Sporting in their next home game on Thursday. While Newcastle will face Aston Villa who were brilliant in the last game.
