Tottenham missed the chance to strengthen their push for a Champions League place after a 4-0 defeat to Newcastle United on Saturday afternoon. It's a defeat that gives top-four rivals Aston Villa a big opportunity heading into Sunday's Premier League match against Arsenal.
Making just one change from last weekend's win over Nottingham Forest when Rodrigo Bentancur came into the side, Spurs forced a few early chances that Timo Werner squandered. Newcastle, who had created a handful of openings of their own, took the lead after 30 minutes when Alexander Isak finished in style after Anthony Gordon had played him through.
Things would get worse for the Lilywhites two minutes later as the England international helped himself to a goal after poor play from Pedro Porro. Shortly after half-time, Newcastle increased their lead when Isak was played in by Bruno Guimaraes and he made no mistake after flying past Micky van de Ven.
There was still time for Eddie Howe's men to add a fourth in the closing stages when Fabian Schar found the net with a towering header from Gordon's corner to complete the scoring. Here are five things we saw in the game at St James' Park:
Unlucky Hojbjerg
After last weekend's 3-1 win over Nottingham Forest, Postecoglou made just one change for the game at St. James' Park. Bentancur was the player who came into the XI as he took the place of Pape Matar Sarr in the center of the pitch.
Bentancur was a substitute in last Sunday's Forest match, but he made an important contribution after helping Spurs regain control of midfield in his 45-minute appearance. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg was also decisive for the end result together with his teammate after his introduction, but the Dane initially remained on the bench in the northeast until Spurs were already three goals behind.
READ MORE: Tottenham player ratings vs Newcastle - Son and Bissouma struggle with Porro poor before injury READ MORE: Tottenham face a homegrown transfer problem, as Premier League and Champions League rules have explainedHojbjerg was extremely unlucky not to earn a place in the Tottenham XI after an excellent performance that highlighted what he can bring to midfield. The decision also showed why it is highly likely that the midfielder will head for the exit in the summer as he looks to get back to playing week in, week out.
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Newcastle fans send message to Madison
James Maddison might well have lined up against Tottenham on Saturday afternoon if things had gone differently last summer. The England international was always planning to leave Leicester City due to his contract status and their relegation to the Championship, but has been linked with a move to Spurs or Newcastle United.
One thing the Magpies could offer him was Champions League football after finishing in the top four last season. Tottenham, on the other hand, could not offer the player any European football at all after a disastrous season in which they finished eighth.
However, Maddison ultimately opted to seal a move to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and it is something that a number of Newcastle fans have clearly not forgotten. "One greedy (expletive)" were the chants from the home side as the midfielder went to take a corner for the Gallowgate End in the opening 10 minutes of the match.
The chants would grow even louder midway through the first half as Maddison felt Dan Burn should have been shown a yellow card for a foul on the halfway line. With ten minutes to go the player was booed as he made way and the chanting started again with the Newcastle fans in a cheerful mood due to the team's large lead.
Shadows of last season
Tottenham fans could not escape last season's 6-1 capitulation at St James' Park as they prepared for their latest visit to Tyneside. Despite not being in charge 12 months ago, Postecoglou was asked about the embarrassing defeat during his pre-match press conference.
Trailing by five goals in just 21 minutes last April, the same didn't happen to Tottenham this time in the opening stages of the match, but not long after the floodgates opened. However, they were already 2-0 down after 32 minutes, and the quick goals they conceded were reminiscent of the previous meeting between the North East teams.
Seeing Gordon Isak push through to open the scoring with a confident finish in the area, Newcastle doubled the lead two minutes later with their next strike as the winger got his name on the scoresheet after a serious error from Porro. From Tottenham's perspective, both were extremely poor goals as Destiny Udogie had to be stronger in a challenge with Gordon for the first goal, before Porro then played a blind pass that swallowed up the England international. Van de Ven also crucially slipped in the penalty area for both goals.
That two-minute nightmare left Spurs fans fearing the worst before half-time. Six minutes after the restart the Magpies had their third of the afternoon as Isak was again played through on goal and he made no mistake to beat Guglielmo Vicario again. Schar then rounded off the defeat with a powerful header from Gordon's precise angle.
The battle in midfield
Newcastle were very deserving of all three points as they put in an impressive performance that could help them secure a European spot at the end of the season. What had a major impact on the final result was that the hosts came out on top in the midfield battle.
It was all too easy at times for Newcastle's midfield trio of Bruno, Sean Longstaff and Elliot Anderson as they gained the upper hand over Bentancur, Bissouma and Maddison. Newcastle were simply stronger in every tackle and ball attempt as they caused the visitors a whole host of problems.
The match also highlighted the need for Postecoglou and Spurs to sign a new number 6 in the summer as they really miss someone in that position who can protect the backline and provide them with much-needed protection. Bissouma simply isn't doing that at the moment and it is crucial that Tottenham solve this problem as quickly as possible.
Sonja is having a hard time
Son Heung-min would only be on the pitch for 58 minutes when he made way after a three-way substitution from the visitors. Very little came the Tottenham captain's way before he left, but it was still a surprise to see Postecoglou land his main man.
Things just haven't gone the player's way in the past few games, with the South Korean having very little impact on proceedings against West Ham and Nottingham Forest, with their defenders largely negating him. The captain has played a central role of late when Richarlison was out injured and a move to the left could potentially work in his favor as he looks to return to his previous levels.
Son sometimes came too deep for the ball in the defeat, because he wanted to bring Spurs into action. The 31-year-old was also guilty of losing the ball in Newcastle's half on a few occasions and that unfortunately culminated in the hosts scoring two of their four goals.
Arsenal are next for Tottenham, giving Son the perfect game for both he and Spurs to get back on track after a truly awful day in the North East.
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