Tottenham Hotspurs 4-1 Newcastle United: Richarlison’s scores Brace, Son and Udogi strike down Newcastle United

Tottenham Hotspurs thrashes Newcastle United at their home as Ange Postecoglou’s side emerged victorious after a heroic 4-1 win over the Magpies, thus strengthening their fifth position on the Premier League table. Brazilian attacker Richarlison was on song last night when he managed to find the back of the net after many fixtures, while skipper Son and Udogie etched their names on the score sheet, therefore completing a rout over Eddie Howe’s men.

An attacking game from both sides

Tottenham Hotspurs and Newcastle have been extremely consistent this season, with several victories ensuring their driver’s seat at the Premier League and UEFA Champions League respectively. Spurs, managed by former Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou, were sitting comfortably on top of the Premier League table till the tenth match week, but were soon ousted by English veterans like Manchester City and Liverpool. They had their downward spiral in last few games after losing some of the crunch fixtures, but it seems that they have finally clawed their way back to maintain a firm grip on the title race, which is currently well poised between top five teams comprising Liverpool, Arsenal, Aston Villa, Manchester City and Spurs.

With a vital clash and all important three points at stake for Spurs, they had to find a way to start ending on the winning side, as it would help them not to drift away from the title race. On the other hand, Newcastle United have showcased their mettle in the league simultaneously with some strong performances in the European top flight, a place where they have set foot after a two-decade long hiatus. Eddie Howe’s men are placed in the group of death, along with AC Milan, PSG and Borussia Dortmund, and are well slated to go to the next round, following a hefty victory. They had defeated Ligue 1 giants PSG on their Champions League return to St. James Park, with the score line ending 4-1 in the favor of Toons’. Last night, they would have loved to replicate their heroics from their last heavyweight tie against Pochettino’s Chelsea, winning 4-1 against a hapless Blues, but their fate did not play the supporting role.

A strong line-up to go for the kill

With a pivotal game in the build-up to title race, both Tottenham and Newcastle had started with a strong line-up to go for the kill from kick-off. Ange went with his traditional 4-2-3-1 style with Son marshalling the attack, followed by Richarlison, Johnson and Kulusevski. The midfield comprised the seasoned due of Bissouma and Sarr, whereas defensive duties were vested upon a four-throng set-up with Romero, Porro, Davies and Udogie, having Vicario between the sticks.

As for Magpies, Eddie Howe went with a 4-3-3 style with Almiron, Isak and Gordon spearheading the attack. They were followed by Guimaraes, Joelinton and Miley, as Livramento, Schar, Lascelles and Trippier completed the line-up.

Both sides seemed adamant and were against the concept of giving away inches, but within the first quarter, Spurs got a corner which was almost converted into a goal by Romero, but unfortunately saw his shot parried away by Almiron’s goal-line clearance.

Udogie draws first blood

Destiny Udogie was instrumental in making the first inroad, as he scored the opener, thus it was in Destiny’s destiny that he would be opening the score to go past the Magpies. Son was the driving force behind the goal, as he placed a perfect cross at Udogie, whose perfectly planted shot went past Dubravka when his exceptional tactic of defensive poaching and racing into opponent box unmarked paid off well, as the hosts take a well-deserved 1-0 lead within half-hour.

The main crunch point of the game arrived on the 37th minute, when Richarlison scored the second goal of the night. The Brazilian, who was having a wry off-scoring season with the Whites, finally found the back of the net, when Trippier’s misjudged clearance fell upon the tireless Son, who beat the distraught English fullback to cut back to the Brazilian star, who found the back of the net after many games, thus doubling the lead at Spurs stadium.

With a 2-0 score line in favor of the hosts when they are well poised for a comfortable victory, the half-time whistle blew, with Eddie Howe hoping for a miraculous turnaround in the second half, a feat which they have been able to achieve quite a few times this season.

Richarlison scores, again with Son rounding off the game

The Brazilian once again was instrumental for getting on the score sheet with a second goal, as the clock struck an hour mark. A fee-kick which was won by Son got things underway as it was worked out wide to Pedro Porro, whose long fundamental cross found Richarlison between two Toons’ defenders, whose first touch, although being on the lose, but with Lascelles unable to grab a hold of it, was enough to grab the brace ahead of a hesitant Dubravka. Thus Spurs was almost on the winning line, but maybe some more goals would have contributed to a feisty goal fest between two of the consistent sides of Premier League this season.

With five minutes left of regulation period, Spurs were awarded a penalty, when skipper Son was fouled by the beleaguered Toons’ custodian, Dubravka, as the South Korean star was racing past the backline from a Porro pass, with Dubravka having no choice but to bring him down. Son took the penalty, sending Dubravka to the right way, but his well-struck spot-kick was enough to put a final nail in the coffin for Eddie Howe’s men. Although Joelinton pulled one back on the 91st minute, it hardly made any difference to the already celebrating home stands, as Spurs strengthen their fifth spot with Newcastle on the seventh place.