After 10 minutes and with Newcastle leading 3-0, Tottenham’s acting head coach Cristian Stellini – the most careless of caretakers – was on the pitch waving five fingers. Was it a formation change or a score prediction? If the latter, he got it wrong, just like everything else.
This is what Antonio Conte was ranting about. He, on reflection, was sacked for exposing the truth. His former players, so cursed and mistrusted by the Italian, were not wearing white shirts, but they did bring a white flag.
Just as title-choking Arsenal were inviting accusations of being ‘Spursy’, the rightful owners intervened to reclaim their crown. Or should that be dunce’s cap?
For this gutless surrender made a mockery of Tottenham’s Champions League ambitions, a first-half capitulation in which years of mismanagement were laid bare as Newcastle scored five inside 21 minutes.
Forget Tottenham’s grievance over state-owned rivals. The fact Newcastle are backed by Saudi money has no influence over the decision-making of Daniel Levy and his managers. Get your own house in order before blaming others for it crashing down.
Newcastle thrashed Tottenham 6-1 in one of the most remarkable results of the season so far
It was a dreadful day for Spurs who now see their hopes of finishing in the top four diminished
Jacob Murphy started the destruction as he opened the scoring after just 61 seconds
To think, since these teams met in the first game of Newcastle’s Saudi ownership 18 months ago, they have both spent £250million on new players. It is quite the achievement for Tottenham to have regressed.
Newcastle, meanwhile, have not wasted a penny, and because of that they are headed for the gilded surrounds of the Champions League.
The fallout will focus on a Tottenham defeat – and there is plenty to pick at before we get down to the carcass of their team – but Newcastle were devastating.
They led on 61 seconds when Jacob Murphy followed up on a shot by Joeltinon, parried tamely by Hugo Lloris, and lashed into the roof of the net. Joelinton had drifted by Pedro Porro and Cristian Romero with ease. Now there was a recurring theme.
Joelinton made it 2-0 after six minutes as he cooly rounded Hugo Lloris and finished calmly
Murphy and his team-mates could barely believe what was happening as he added a third
Alexander Isak then scored a quick-fire double to put the hosts 5-0 up after only 21 minutes
Cristian Stellini had a dreadful day as his decision to go with a back four backfired massively
It was the same hapless pair the Brazilian ran behind when taking down Fabian Schar’s through ball before rounding Lloris and slotting home on six minutes.
Murphy had his second on nine minutes, a stunning strike from 25 yards, but only after Son Heung-Min had cheaply given up possession.
On 19 minutes it was four. Joe Willock’s assist will perhaps be lost amid the wreckage of Tottenham’s collapse, but it was sublime – Glenn Hoddle-esque, even. He bent the ball with the outside of his right boot around the back of Tottenham’s defence – now there is a trade description violation – and Alexander Isak accepted the pass before tucking beyond Lloris.
Isak had another within 90 seconds, again finishing with confidence – is that any wonder against this lot? – after collecting Sean Longstaff’s pullback on the angle of the six-yard area.
Harry Kane tried to rally the troops at 5-0 down but it was an awful afternoon for Spurs
Tottenham’s talisman did help reduce the deficit as he pulled one back early in the second half
Stellini responded by bringing on a player, Davinson Sanchez, who was booed by his own fans last week, and hooking one who should never have started, the hopeless Pape Sarr. Not that he was alone in that description – Porro, in particular, was shambolic.
The heavens then opened, and Newcastle’s goal drought kicked in. It would be another 47 minutes before they scored again, this time when substitute Callum Wilson turned in from close range past Fraser Forster, a half-time replacement for Lloris.
By then, Harry Kane had pulled one back a few minutes into the second half. He, though, had touched the ball more times from the centre spot than he had Newcastle’s penalty area. Now there is a damning statement, but not half as ruinous as the scoreline.
Callum Wilson added a sixth after coming on as a substitute to rub salt into Spurs’ wounds
The result puts Newcastle in a fantastic position to qualify for the Champions League next year
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