‘Set the tone’: How Tottenham got back on track

Tottenham won for the first time in six Premier League matches with this comprehensive result against Newcastle. The visitors have been in mixed form themselves, now with three wins and three defeats from their past six league fixtures. Both sides have been hit by injuries in recent weeks, testing their squad depth, but it was Tottenham who proved far stronger over the course of these 90 minutes.

Ange Postecoglou’s side had taken the lead in 14 of their previous 15 Premier League games, but have made a habit of dropping points from winning positions. It thus came as great relief to the home crowd when Richarlison doubled their lead on 38 minutes, before adding a third on the hour.

To cap it off, Son Heung-min got his 10th in 16 Premier League games, before Joelinton denied Guglielmo Vicario a sheet. Tottenham have now scored in 28 consecutive league games. Only twice before — 32 First Division games between April-December 1949 and then again from February-November 1962 — have they had a longer scoring run in league football.

Newcastle, meanwhile, have lost back-to-back Premier League games by three or more goals for the first time since November 2017. They have also lost more league matches (six) in their first 16 games of the 2023/24 Premier League, than they lost in the entirety of the 2022/23 season (five).

How the managers saw it

“I thought Sonny really set the tone for us early on,” said Postcoglou. “Whenever he got the ball, he was really positive with it. That’s what you need from leadership, and I think the rest of the lads fed off that. We were a lot more threatening in that front third than we have been.”

“We had our moments in the game,” reflected Eddie Howe. “Especially at the beginning of the second half, when we were excellent until they scored. We weren’t at our best physically today, and you could see that. The lads were giving everything but with not enough resources to give more.”

Below, our UEFA-licensed experts have picked out three key themes from the game...

Tottenham’s left inside channel

Starting in their familiar 4-2-3-1 shape, Tottenham excelled down their left throughout the first half, dominating Newcastle and their 4-5-1 defensive block. Destiny Udogie narrowed inside from left-back, giving Ben Davies space to receive. This often lured Miguel Almirón to jump out and press Davies alone, with Udogie moving well away from the Newcastle wide attacker. From here, Son — starting on the left for the first time since August — and Dejan Kulusevski, who widened from his starting position as the number 10, combined in the enhanced space. Son isolated Kieran Trippier, attacking the visitors' full-back 1v1, or combining with Kulusevski’s runs beyond Trippier (below). 

Newcastle's lone central forward, Alexander Isak, began to press across more towards Davies. In the time it took him to come over, Davies drove into midfield, taking advantage of the space created by Udogie narrowing. Richarlison dropped and pulled an uncomfortable Jamaal Lascelles forward, giving Kulusevski even more space to run into (below).  Kulusevski was working off inexperienced Newcastle midfielder Lewis Miley — just 17 years old — who struggled to track his runs throughout the first half .

Tottenham’s fluid left side created several chances. Udogie’s narrow position in the final third allowed Kulusevski to remain higher and helped Son repeatedly isolate and get the better of Trippier (below).

Twice, Son crossed for narrowed runners after left-side combinations between himself, Kulusevski and Udogie. The left-back finished one of these moves for the opener, and Richarlison did likewise for a deserved second.

Newcastle in possession

Newcastle operated in a 4-3-3 shape in possession, but faced an aggressive high press from the home side. In the first half, Eddie Howe’s team struggled to progress the ball forward. Wingers Anthony Gordon and Miguel Almirón tried to threaten in behind Spurs’ high back line, but with limited success. And although Tottenham committed a central midfielder high to jump towards Newcastle’s back line, the visitors were frequently unable to find the free number eight. There was only one real moment of quality, after eight minutes, when they played over the press into Joelinton as the free eight. He then connected with Gordon to cross for Isak (below), with Davies just doing enough to prevent a clean effort on goal.

In the first five minutes of the second half, Newcastle created more successful final-third passes than the rest of the game. They kept possession better, especially during the transitional moments, and forced Tottenham into a mid-block. As Spurs’ number 10 Kulusevski jumped on to Newcastle’s centre-backs with Richarlison, the visitors had a central midfielder free. Whenever they found this spare man, they progressed forward well.

Gordon operated as the central forward (below), threatening in behind, with Isak out to the left. Trippier overlapped, working around Almirón, as Newcastle’s central midfield worked the ball into their front line with more control and quality. However, Spurs’ third goal killed off any Newcastle momentum. 

Tottenham’s right side

With number 10 Kulusevski joining combinations between Pape Matar Sarr, Pedro Porro and Brennan Johnson, the Spurs right offered more in the second half. Johnson’s movements in behind worked crossing opportunities similar to those created for Son in the first half. The inside-channel combinations helped play through and around Newcastle’s central midfield – and, with Isak now on the left for the visitors, his defensive naivety allowed Porro to work the wider spaces much more efficiently. It was clipped ball from Porro that found Richarlison for the crucial third goal (below).

Son finished the game as the central forward (below), threatening beyond Newcastle’s centre-backs. Both full-backs then provided the width in the attack. This allowed the hosts’ central midfielders to drop towards the back line, locking Newcastle in and covering any potential counter-attacking threat into the feet of substitute Callum Wilson, who replaced Isak on 64 minutes.

This movement also allowed others to rotate into the spaces between the lines, with the right inside channel again key in the second period. Kulusevski — by now moved to the left — still came across to support between the lines (above). Tottenham’s speed of play once they broke Newcastle’s midfield line of five was very impressive, as indeed was their overall display.

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