Tottenham suffered a humiliating defeat to Newcastle United. They collapsed, allowing as many as five runs in 21 minutes in the first half. The chances of advancing to the European Football Federation (UEFA) Champions League (UCL) next season have become even more slim.
Tottenham was defeated 1-6 by Newcastle in an away game in the 32nd round of the 2022-23 English Premier League (EPL) held at St. James Park in Newcastle, England on the 23rd at 10:00 pm (Korean time).
With the defeat on this day, Tottenham fell into the swamp of a second consecutive league defeat following the earlier defeat against Bournemouth. With 53 points (16 wins, 5 draws, 11 losses), Newcastle, who rose to 3rd place, and Manchester United (59 points above), were in 4th place, with a gap of 6 points. Tottenham played one game more than Newcastle and two more games than Man United, so a red flag was turned on in the competition to advance to the UCL through entry into the top 4.
It was a humiliating defeat that will go down in history beyond a simple defeat. On this day, Tottenham conceded 3 goals in 9 minutes in the first half, which was the 6th in EPL history and the first record in 13 years since Manchester City’s match against Burnley in 2010. In addition, the gap to 0-5 in 21 minutes is the second fastest in EPL history, following Man City’s 18th minute against Watford in 2019.
Son Heung-min, who was consistently lethargic in Tottenham’s performance, had no choice but to remain silent. Son Heung-min, who only missed one shot in the first half, aimed for a shot in the second half, but was blocked by the defensive wall every time, swallowing regret. As he was replaced by Richarlison in the 38th minute of the second half and finished the game, the rise in goals in the last two games was also broken. There were 3 shots (0 effective shots) and 2 key passes.
Tottenham, who suffered a crushing defeat from the first game of the tough three-game series, became more burdened with the remaining schedule. Tottenham will clash with Manchester United on the 28th and Liverpool (away) on the 1st of next month. Looking back on their recent performance, it is not a UCL competition, but the possibility of falling below the 6th place has become a situation that cannot be ruled out.
Acting coach Christian Stellini made a surprise change to a four-back strategy rather than a three-back strategy that he had maintained throughout the season. With Harry Kane at the center, Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski lined up on both sides, while Pierre-Emile Hoivier, Oliver Skip and Pape Matar Sar lined up in the midfield. Ivan Perisic, Eric Dier, Christian Romero and Pedro Poro lined the defense and Hugo Lloris in goal.
The tactical change brought out by Acting Supervisor Stellini became a ‘handshake’. Due to the sudden tactical change, Tottenham’s defense was extremely shaken from the beginning of the game. They conceded the opening goal in the 2nd minute of the first half. Lloris parried the shot following Joellington’s dribble breakthrough, but Jacob Murphy finished it with his right foot.
Then, in the 6th and 9th minutes of the first half, consecutive goals were allowed. Fabian Shea’s long pass was connected to Joellington, who was digging into the space behind the defense, and Joellington passed goalkeeper Lloris and kicked it into the empty goal. Three minutes later, Dyer’s unreasonable forward pass toward Son Heung-min led to an opponent’s counterattack, and Murphy’s powerful mid-range shot shook the Tottenham goal.
Driven by a shocking score of 0-3 in the 9th minute of the first half, Tottenham tried to turn the mood around with Kane’s shot. However, the atmosphere had already gone far beyond. In the 19th minute of the first half, he allowed a fourth run. In the counterattack situation, a pass to the back space of the defense was connected to Alexander Isak, and Isaac did not miss it.
The Tottenham defense could hardly find stability. Another goal was conceded just two minutes later. It was helpless against the opponent’s attack, which was concisely deployed from the side. Isaac finished another Sean Longstaff cutback. The score was 0-5 after 21 minutes in the first half. The appearance of Tottenham away fans already leaving their seats was captured intact on the relay screen.
In the 23rd minute of the first half, Acting manager Stellini admitted that the tactics had failed by replacing Sarr and putting in defender Davinson Sanchez. Only after returning to the 3-4-3 format instead of 4-3-3, the Tottenham defense, which had been extremely shaken, began to stabilize little by little. However, the fire for a counterattack was seldom lit. Kulusevski’s shot and Son Heung-min’s missed shot also missed the goal post.
At the start of the second half, Stellini replaced goalkeeper Lloris with Fraser Foster. It was unusual to change the goalkeeper during a game unless there were unavoidable reasons such as injury. It meant that the match was so abnormal that day. 안전놀이터
Tottenham, driven into a corner, managed to avoid defeat by scoring a comeback goal in the 4th minute of the second half. Kane, who received Hoivier’s pass, dug into the left flank, then finished with his left foot from the left side of the penalty box.
Even after that, Tottenham took the lead and tried to close the gap. However, rather than taking the initiative ahead of the opponent in terms of performance, it was close to the result of Newcastle, who had won the game early, and managed the game stably without overdoing it. It was in the same context that Tottenham failed to produce any significant results even after leading the game.
Son Heung-min also looked for a shot opportunity to shake the net. However, the shooting failed to break through Newcastle’s thick defensive wall every time. Rather, Tottenham conceded even the 6th goal in the 23rd minute of the second half. Miguel Almiron’s shot hit Romero and was deflected, and Callum Wilson finished it in front of the goal.
When the 5-goal gap opened again, the game became loose again. As if Tottenham had lost their will to fight, they failed to create a significant attacking opportunity. Rather, in the 33rd minute of the second half, in a counterattack situation, he almost allowed the 7th goal, but Perisic cleared it right in front of the goal line and narrowly avoided another humiliation.
Son Heung-min was replaced by Richarlison in the 38th minute of the second half and finished the game first. Neither Newcastle’s 7th goal nor Tottenham’s comeback goal came out in the remaining time. The match ended with Tottenham’s 1-6, humiliating defeat.