James Maddison looks on following Tottenham's capitulation at Newcastle United(Image: George Wood/Getty Images)

James Maddison sent message, Son Heung-min woes - 5 things spotted in Newcastle vs Tottenham

Here are five things we spotted in Tottenham's 4-0 Premier League defeat against Newcastle United at St. James' Park on Saturday afternoon

13 Apr 2024, 13:49 by Rob Guest · football.london

Tottenham missed the opportunity to strengthen their push for a Champions League place following a 4-0 humbling at Newcastle United on Saturday afternoon. It is a defeat that has presented top-four rivals Aston Villa will a big opportunity heading into Sunday's Premier League showdown against Arsenal.

Making just the one change from last weekend's win over Nottingham Forest as Rodrigo Bentancur came into the side, Spurs forced a couple of chances early on that Timo Werner passed up. Newcastle, who had created a handful of openings of their own, then took the lead on 30 minutes as Alexander Isak finished in style after Anthony Gordon had played him through.

It was to then get even worse for the Lilywhites two minutes later as the England international helped himself to a goal following some poor play from Pedro Porro. Newcastle added to their lead shortly after the break as Isak was played in by Bruno Guimaraes and he made no mistake after breezing past Micky van de Ven.

There was still time for Eddie Howe's men to add a fourth in the closing stages as Fabian Schar found the net with a towering header from Gordon's corner to complete the scoring. Here are five things we spotted in the game at St James' Park:

Unlucky Hojbjerg

Following last weekend's 3-1 win over Nottingham Forest, Postecoglou made just the one change for the game at St. James' Park. Bentancur was the player to come into the XI as he took the place of Pape Matar Sarr in the middle of the pitch.

Bentancur was a substitute in last Sunday's Forest game but he did make a key contribution after helping Spurs regain control in midfield in his 45-minute appearance. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg was also pivotal to the final result after his introduction at the same time as his teammate, but the Dane remained on the bench to begin with in the north east until Spurs were already three goals down.

Hojbjerg could count himself extremely unlucky to not earn a place in the Tottenham XI after what was an excellent performance that highlighted just what he can bring to midfield. The decision also demonstrated why it is very likely the midfielder will head for the exit door in the summer as he looks to get back to playing week in, week out once again.

Newcastle fans send message to Maddison

James Maddison may well have been lining up against Tottenham on Saturday afternoon if things had panned out differently last summer. Always set to leave Leicester City due to his contract status and their relegation to the Championship, the England international was linked with a switch to either Spurs or Newcastle United.

One thing the Magpies could offer him was Champions League football after securing a top-four finish last term. Tottenham, on the other hand, couldn't offer the player European football at all following a disastrous season that saw them finish eighth.

However, Maddison in the end opted to seal a move to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and it is something a number of Newcastle fans have clearly not forgotten about. "One greedy (expletive)" were the chants from the home end when the midfielder went to take a corner in front of the Gallowgate End inside the first 10 minutes of the contest.

The chants were then to get even louder midway inside the first half as Maddison believed Dan Burn should have been shown a yellow card for a foul on the halfway line. Replaced with 10 minutes to go, the player was jeered as he made way and those chants once again commenced with Newcastle fans in joyous mood due to the team's big lead.

Shades of last season

Tottenham fans just couldn't escape last season's 6-1 capitulation at St James' Park as they prepared for their latest visit to Tyneside. Even though he was not in charge 12 months ago, Postecoglou was asked about the embarrassing defeat in his pre-match press conference.

Falling five goals behind after only 21 minutes last April, the same didn't happen to Tottenham this time around in the opening stages of the fixture but the floodgates would open not long after. They did find themselves 2-0 down after 32 minutes, though, and the quickfire goals they conceded did have a resemblance to the previous meeting between the teams in the north east.

Seeing Gordon put Isak through to open the scoring with a confident finish in the area, Newcastle doubled their lead two minutes later with their very next attack as the winger got his name on the scoresheet after a bad mistake from Porro. Both were extremely poor goals to concede from a Tottenham perspective as Destiny Udogie needed to be stronger in a challenge with Gordon for the first goal, before Porro then played a blind pass that the England international gobbled up. Van de Ven also crucially slipped in the area for both goals.

That nightmare two-minute spell had Spurs fans fearing the worst prior to the break. Six minutes after the restart and the Magpies did have their third of the afternoon as Isak was once again played through on goal and he made no mistake at all to get the better of Guglielmo Vicario once again. Schar then completed the rout with a powerful header from Gordon's precise corner.

The midfield battle

Newcastle very much deserved all three points as they delivered an impressive performance that could help them secure a European spot come the end of the season. What had a huge bearing on the end result was the hosts coming out on top in the midfield battle.

It was all too easy for Newcastle's midfield trio of Bruno, Sean Longstaff and Elliot Anderson at times as they got the better of Bentancur, Bissouma and Maddison. Newcastle were just stronger in every tackle and attempt for the ball as they caused the visitors a whole host of problems.

The game also highlighted the need for Postecoglou and Spurs to sign a new No.6 in the summer as they really lack someone in that position who can shield the backline and offer them some much-needed protection. Bissouma is just not doing that at present and it is vital Tottenham fix that issue sooner rather than later.

Sonny struggles

Son Heung-min would only be on the pitch for 58 minutes as he made way as part of a triple change from the visitors. Very little fell the Tottenham captain's way prior to his exit but it was still a surprise to see Postecoglou hook 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 very much nullifying him. The captain has operated in a central role recently with Richarlison out injured and a switch back to the left could potentially work in his favour as he looks to get back to his previous levels.

Son was coming too deep at times for the ball in the defeat as he looked to spark Spurs into action. The 31-year-old was also guilty of losing the ball on a few occasions in the Newcastle half and that unfortunately culminated in the hosts scoring two of their four goals.

Arsenal are up next for Tottenham, thus giving Son the perfect game for both he and Spurs to get back on track after a truly dreadful day in the north east.

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