Newcastle 6-1 Tottenham: Player ratings as first-half blitz downs woeful Spurs

 

Newcastle overcame Tottenham from a five-goal first-half lead on Sunday afternoon, eventually winning 6-1 in the Premier League to open up a six-point cushion over the fifth-placed north London side.

 Jacob Murphy's face, a mixture of horror and overwhelming joy, captured the tense mix of emotions emanating from the black and white stripes of Tyneside. 

Amazingly, there was a lot more for Murphy's facial expressions to capture. Murphy started the game within two minutes, receiving a ball from Joelinton, who Hugo Lloris equalized directly on the wing.

 Not five minutes passed before Joelinton rounded off the hapless Tottenham keeper.

 Interim manager of Tottenham Cristian Stellini has finally given in to the demands of the fans by ditching the three-back system that Antonio Conte drew on as a tactic. 

However, the collection of different defenses that Stellini deployed in this reformed system was disproportionate to the relative threat of four defenders. 

Joelinton slotted in behind Pedro Porro - a player who started religiously on the wing for Sporting CP - and Cristian Romero, as the centre-back was caught with Fabian Schar's high pass. 

Murphy left the crowd and himself open-mouthed to drive home from 30 yards to give Newcastle a 3-0 lead after just nine minutes. 

As soon as St James Park regained its collective breath, Newcastle returned to the pace while Spurs stalled.

Tottenham's back four went two behind when Joe Willock crossed for Alexander Isak in the 19th minute of the game.

 The flying Swede again put the ball past Lloris 55 seconds later. Tottenham were - in theory, at least - a solid defense before Newcastle's right-wing side crashed into the frustrated and disinterested blue shirts. 

Just before half-time, Stellini called time when he squared off Davinson Sanchez - fresh from being booed mercilessly by his fans - in another hostile atmosphere. The damage, however, was long overdue. 

Spurs managed to settle down after the change - although Newcastle naturally recovered from the heavy lead they were relying on. 

Harry Kane made a ruthless save five minutes after the restart, but Callum Wilson came off the bench to restore Newcastle's five-goal advantage, latching on to substitute Miguel Almiron's pass. entered with a quarter of the tournament played. 

Everything Newcastle had in abundance - lively, organized and efficient - Tottenham desperately lacked. At the end of May, the list of talents may include the Champions League qualification.

Newcastle player rating (4-3-3) 

GK: Nick Pope - 5/10 - Beaten by a hard low shot by Kane on another quiet afternoon. 

RB: Kieran Trippier - 7/10 - Not the heart of most forward benders that might be expected from a tight end at the other end. 

CB: Fabian Schar – 7/10 – Cut through the middle of Tottenham's sprawling backline with a number of incisive passes.

 CB: Sven Botman - 6/10 - Not as bad with the ball at his feet as his centre-back partner but doesn't deviate from the backline either.

 LB: Dan Burn - 7/10 - Didn't bother Dejan Kulusevski too much.

 CM: Sean Longstaff - 8/10 - Contributed to his skill set - although the position between Tottenham's players was not coherent.

 CM: Bruno Guimaraes - 7/10 - He couldn't help but smile as he watched his teammates destroy Tottenham's backline. 

CM: Joe Willock - 8/10 - The former Arsenal academy graduate will be more than happy to play the role at Tottenham. 

RW: Jacob Murphy – 9/10 – He might hardly believe it himself, but Murphy did indeed score his second goal of the game with a volley from inside the penalty area. 

ST: Alexander Isak - 9/10 - Delightfully drew a yawn from the Tottenham backline.

 LW: Joelinton - 8/10 - Lack of transparency has not hindered his ability to properly punish bad visitors.

The replacement

 Callum Wilson (66' from Isak) - 7/10 - Continued his good form with a good poaching from close range. 

Miguel Almiron (66' from Murphy) - 6/10 

Anthony Gordon (70' for Guimaraes) - 5/10 

Javier Manquillo (70' from Trippier) - 5/10 

Jamal Lascelles (74' from Schar) - N/A

 The manager 

Eddie Howe - 8/10 - Make his side mercilessly exploit Tottenham's inadequacies.

 Rating of Tottenham players (4-3-3) 

GK: Hugo Lloris - 0/10 - Being sent off at half-time is embarrassing for most captains but after a holographic opening 45 minutes, Lloris' dismissal must have been kind. 

RB: Pedro Porro - 1/10 - Never quite understood where he was supposed to be on the pitch.

 CB: Cristian Romero - 0/10 - Like a child distracted by a balloon caught in a lift, Romero's almost comical snub to Newcastle's third goal wasn't his only fault. 

CB: Eric Dier - 2/10 - Never looked comfortable without the safety of both central defenders on either side - Sunday afternoon was no different.

 LB: Ivan Perisic – 1/10 – He spent most of the game as a spectator, even when the action was happening in the right area he had to patrol it. 

CM: Pape Sarr - 2/10 - Stellini's sacrificial lamb made it back five, Sarr was Tottenham's worst player on the pitch - that was an award that will be debated in the coming weeks - but it looked completely different. out of his depth. 

CM: Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg - 3/10 - Given a bucket of water to put out a hot burn, Hojbjerg endured a long afternoon. 

CM: Oliver Skipp - 3/10 - Despite Tottenham's fast start, Skipp looked sore before the second half. Can you blame him?

 RW: Dejan Kulusevski - 3/10 - Was stiff and didn't do much. ST: Harry Kane - 5/10 - When his record is combined, Kane's goal on Sunday will count as much as the others, but few will feel it is missing. 

LW: Son Heung-min - 4/10 - Showed some energy that was reflected in the ruthlessness of his teammates.

The replacemen

 Davinson Sanchez (23″ Sarr) – 5/10 – Came on after the break but couldn't guard the back door. 

Fraser Forster (46' for Lloris) - 5/10 - He managed to avoid five of the six shots on goal he faced unlike his captain. 

Arnaut Danjuma (72' for Kulusevski) - N/A 

Richarlison (83' for Son) - N/A 

The manager

 Cristian Stellini - 0/10 - Within nine minutes of the 90th, it was, if not before, abundantly clear that Spurs need to get a real manager, rather than a less than average former assistant. Italy got a point. third level in his only head coaching gig six years ago. 

Player of the match - Jacob Murphy (Newcastle)