Newcastle Dismantle Tottenham With 5 Goals in Opening 21 Minutes
Tottenham Hotspur’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League next season were dealt a devastating blow after falling 6-1 at Newcastle United on Sunday.
The hosts jumped out to a 5-0 lead 21 minutes into the contest before cruising to victory with a solid second-half performance and strengthening their own odds of qualifying for the Champions League for the first time in over 20 years.
Newcastle scored two goals in the opening six minutes. Then, Jacob Murphy scored his second of the afternoon courtesy of a long-distance strike in the ninth minute that sailed past motionless Spurs ‘keeper and captain Hugo Lloris.
Things went from bad to worse shortly after for the visitors. Alexander Isak scored a two-minute brace to deepen the state of shock of Newcastle’s high-flying start at St. James’ Park.
“It’s very difficult to understand why the first 25 minutes were so bad,” interim boss Cristian Stellini said after the defeat. “We were not prepared to play this type of tough game. To suffer, control the space and win duels.”
Spurs pulled one goal back after Harry Kane wiped out Newcastle’s clean sheet with a quality goal three minutes after halftime.
But Newcastle’s five-goal advantage was restored shortly after Kane’s strike when Callum Wilson scored his 11th Premier League goal of the season.
Newcastle sit third in the table with 59 points, the same amount as a Manchester United that has a game in hand. Newcastle last competed in the Champions League during the 2002-03 campaign.
Source: The Score
