Newcastle United obliterated Premier League top-four rivals Tottenham Hotspur with a five-goal salvo in the opening 21 minutes on the way to a 6-1 rout at St James’ Park on Sunday.
In the day’s other Premier League fixture, West Ham’s hopes of survival were boosted with a 4-0 drubbing of fellow relegation strugglers Bournemouth.
It was a miserable afternoon for Spurs’ keeper Hugo Lloris, who let five in before being substituted at the break.Credit: Getty Images
In Newcastle, a game billed as a crucial six-pointer in the race to secure Champions League qualification was effectively all over before the clock had reached 10 minutes as fifth-placed Tottenham collapsed like a pack of cards.
Jacob Murphy got the scoreboard ticking in the second minute after Hugo Lloris spilled a Joelinton shot and four minutes later Joelinton rounded Lloris to slot in his side’s second goal.
Murphy then belted in Newcastle’s third from long range after Tottenham conceded possession and there was a sense of disbelief in the stadium as Alexander Isak produced two clinical finishes in the space of two minutes to make it 5-0.
It was the second-earliest a team had taken a five-goal lead in Premier League history after Manchester City scored five in the opening 18 minutes against Watford in 2019.
Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon takes on Spurs’ substitute keeper Fraser Forster at St James’ Park on Sunday.Credit: Getty Images
Tottenham’s fans high in the Leazes Stand had no stomach for any more humiliation with many heading for the exits and the long journey back home long before halftime.
The only question left was whether Newcastle could surpass their record Premier League victory of 8-0 against Sheffield Wednesday in 1999 and whether Tottenham could avoid their record top-flight defeat – a 7-0 drubbing at Liverpool in 1978.
Tottenham improved after the break, although it was hard not to, with Harry Kane slotting in a consolation goal four minutes into the second half, but Callum Wilson scored Newcastle’s sixth one minute after coming off the bench.
It was the perfect response by Newcastle to last week’s 3-0 defeat at Aston Villa and took them a big step closer to a return to the Champions League for the first time for 20 years.
Newcastle moved above Manchester United into third place with 59 points, six more than fifth-placed Tottenham who have also played a game more and whose hopes of a top-four finish now look to be all but over.
“It was an incredible start to the game,” Newcastle manager Eddie Howe told Sky Sports. “We elevated our performance in that opening half an hour. You don’t expect that, but the quality of our finishing was lethal today.”
Tottenham’s shambolic state was exemplified by young midfielder Pape Matar Sarr being substituted after 23 minutes after looking out of his depth. He was replaced by defender Davinson Sanchez, who was booed by his own fans last week after coming off the bench in the defeat by Bournemouth.
Lloris was hooked off at halftime and replaced by Fraser Forster and Tottenham briefly rallied as Kane took his Premier League goal tally for the season to 24. However, Wilson made sure Newcastle had the last laugh on a remarkable afternoon on Tyneside.
“It’s very embarrassing,” Lloris said after the game. “We should apologise to the fans. We didn’t show a good face and we could not match the performance of the Newcastle players.”
West Ham rout Bournemouth
West Ham’s win over Bournemouth moved the Hammers six points clear of the drop zone to 13th place in the standings.
First-half goals by Michail Antonio, Lucas Paqueta and Declan Rice put the visitors in control at Vitality Stadium and substitute Pablo Fornals added a fourth after the break.
Antonio struck a fifth-minute opener for his 12th goal of the season from an Aaron Cresswell corner.
The Hammers doubled their lead eight minutes later through Paqueta’s header at the back post.
Bournemouth mounted something of a fightback, but West Ham made it 3-0 two minutes before halftime when Rice fired home via a deflection to make it back-to-back goals this week.
The Hammers’ captain was serenaded by the away fans soon after with chants urging him to stay amid talk his future could lie away from London Stadium after this campaign.
West Ham’s fourth came when Fornals backheeled Jarrod Bowen’s cross into the far corner in the 72nd.
Reuters
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