Heung-min Son and Matt Doherty each had a goal and an assist to make Tottenham vs Newcastle rather academic just after the hour mark of a 5-1 Spurs win that further illustrates the growing North London firepower in the Premier League.
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium saw its heroes go down 1-0 on a Fabian Schar free kick but Ben Davies had a quick answer before Doherty, Son, and Emerson Royal struck between halftime and the 63rd minute. Lucas Moura set up fellow sub Steven Bergwijn late to complete the score line.
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Tottenham moves back into fourth place with 54 points, level with North London derby rivals Arsenal. The Gunners play Monday as one of their two matches-in-hand with Spurs, though a remaining derby means Tottenham still controls its own top-four destiny. Tottenham has a better goal differential by two.
Newcastle’s 31 points are good for 15th, nine points clear of the bottom three with eight matches left on its PL docket.
WATCH TOTTENHAM vs NEWCASTLE FULL MATCH REPLAY STREAM - LINK
Tottenham vs Newcastle final score, stats
Tottenham 5, Newcastle 1
Goals scored: Schar (39'), Davies (43'), Doherty (48'), Son (54'), Royal (63'), Bergwijn (83')
Shots: Tottenham 16, Newcastle 8
Shots on target: Tottenham 6, Newcastle 1
Possession: Tottenham 62, Newcastle 38
Three things we learned from Tottenham vs Newcastle
1. Magpies make moment matter (if only for a moment): A silly-enough foul on Joe Willock in a very dangerous area gave Newcastle its first genuine chance to wreak havoc, and Fabian Schar stung a shot around the wall that Hugo Lloris could only slow on its way into the side netting. It was indicative of Newcastle in years-past, bunkering in and hoping to deliver via a moment. Unfortunately for them, the lead lasted a very short period of time as Ben Davies turned a terrific Heung-min Son cross inside of Martin Dubravka’s far post.
2. Set pieces undo Newcastle: Davies’ header off Tottenham’s second bite at a late first-half corner kick showed Newcastle wasn’t at its best with balls in the air if Dan Burn wasn’t near them, and a terrible Newcastle free kick early in the second half allowed Spurs to burst forward with a counterattack that saw Kane cue up his latest assist as the Magpies failed to deal with a cross at the other end. Ugly.
3. Say it again -- “All top four roads go through North London": While we wait for the Premier League to give us a date for the postponed North London derby, it’s looking more and more like the only way it won’t be one NLD rival to reach the top four is if Chelsea somehow drops out of the picture because Spurs and Arsenal both join the fun. Tottenham is too good with this manager and the additions of Cristian Romero, Rodrigo Betancur, and Dejan Kulusevski joined a back-to-their-best Heung-min Son and Harry Kane in making this team capable of a Champions League return.
Man of the Match: Heung-min Son -- He was everywhere and might’ve had a hat trick on a different day. His goal and assist were part of an industrious day as Newcastle did keep the ball out of his feet but Son’s three key passes were part of Tottenham’s show.
At least Newcastle got a cool highlight out of this one
[ VIDEO: Premier League highlights ]
