Four things we discovered as Spurs defeated Newcastle and resumed their winning ways
The Spurs supporters haven’t been happy lately—one point in their last fifteen games—but manager Ange Postecoglou has dismissed any notion that his team needs to adopt a more unconventional approach. What was the outcome? Tottenham’s possession of the ball and fast-paced, cutting football ultimately produced the outcome that previous efforts had failed to produce, as the Lilywhites are now back on the winning track.
Given how many games Newcastle has been playing, it would be unfair to talk about Spurs’ injury woes without also mentioning their own, and this seemed like one too many matches for the Toon.
However, despite their difficulties, Newcastle has at least produced some positive results, and Spurs were the team under more scrutiny going into this game. For this reason, Postecoglou will be happy that he has addressed several concerns, not the least of which is his team’s decision to take chances.
After going through a rough patch in his Spurs career thus far, Richarlison found the back of the net twice. It was a cathartic moment, and there’s a certain poetic quality to it, especially since the opposition’s Callum Wilson publicly made fun of his hardships the previous campaign. Spurs might get back to their previous level of play that saw them push past expectations earlier in the season if the Brazilian striker keeps up his current performance.
To Richarlison’s brace, added was an
Real wingers, and very good ones. Wingers, who are primarily responsible for getting behind and pulling crosses back, have become less and less popular with the top clubs since Mourinho arrived on these shores and brought the 4-3-3 to the Premier League. In fact, many of them have been out of the picture for a number of years.
However, Trippier and Livramento were unable to match the pace and cunning imposed on them because Son was using his left foot to maintain a natural left footer stretching that side, and Johnson was performing the same role superbly on the right.
Son beat his former teammate in close range for Spurs’ first two goals, then pulled back for Richarlison and Udogie, respectively. Spurs would trouble Newcastle’s full backs the entire game. It’s safe to say that Postecoglou’s style is entertaining and works well in the Premier League.
