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Tottenham Hotspur forged arguably their best attacking display of the season to beat Newcastle United 3-2 on Sunday. The win came on a historic evening at St. James' Park in the Premier League.
Goals from Tanguy Ndombele, Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min were enough to secure Spurs' third consecutive win in all competitions. As for the Magpies, they are still without a win this season.
Callum Wilson scored very early on, whilst Eric Dier briefly brought Newcastle back into the game with a late own goal. Off a free-kick and under no pressure, Dier failed to sort out his defensive position and turned the ball into his own net.
Just when one thought it couldn't have gotten any worse, Jonjo Shelvey picked up a second yellow card 10 minutes to full-time to add to the Toons' misery.
Regardless of what the future beholds following the change of ownership, Bruce and Co. will know they have a herculean task ahead. They have no wins and have the Premier League's most generous defense this term, having conceded 19. A period of transition that is heavily dependent on survival marks the start of this new period for relegation-threatened Newcastle.
On that note, we shall have a rundown of the major talking points from Spurs' win over Newcastle.
#1 Steve Bruce recalls Wilson for historic game
It was no surprise to see the ebullient Newcastle faithful produce a deafening noise at kick-off, as the Toons lined up for their first game under new ownership.
There was a sense of ambition, transformation and an obvious nostalgia for all the years Newcastle United ruled the English footballing landscape. Everyone wanted to be in and around St. James' Park. Such was the occasion that even Sir John Hall, former president of the club, was there to witness the onset of a new period across Tyneside.
Steve Bruce accomplished a personal milestone himself, managing his 1000th game in football.
He made a couple of changes to the team that lost narrowly to Wolves, recalling star forward Callum Wilson to the starting XI. Wilson is one of the players expected to stay put and remain at the heart of the project.
Skipper Jamaal Lascelles also returned to shepherd the back line.
#2 Newcastle kickstarts the new era with an early goal
It was very easy to jump into tackles and commit errors with all the adrenaline pumped into the field by such a vocal crowd. However, Newcastle kept it simple and stuck to the basics.
Barely a couple of minutes in, Wilson was there to nod home the opener into the back of the net with a smart header. There was nothing exuberant about the play. Joelinton picked up the ball in a half-space, jogged his way infield under no pressure and passed it to Willock.
Newcastle's players side-passed their way to the right wing, where Javier Manquillo came rushing. The full-back whipped the ball in first time, and Wilson cleverly ran across the Spurs centre-halves to score the first goal of the game.
From Tottenham's perspective, it was extremely poor and static from their midfielders who did not apply any kind of pressure on their opponents. As far as Christian Romero and Eric Dier are concerned, there was a clear lack of communication between the two.
#3 Spurs breach Toons' porous defense with two goals
As exciting as it was, Newcastle's lead was only a short-lived one. About 15 minutes after the hosts took the lead, Spurs found space on the edge of the 18-yard box just like their opposition had when they broke the deadlock early on.
Ndombele took full advantage of Newcastle's passive approach to receive a square ball from Sergio Reguilon, positioning himself perfectly and gorgeously curling the ball past Karl Darlow.
The first-half proved defenses were not on top. Five minutes later, Manquillo left Kane onside when he was asking Hojbjerg for a ball over the top.
The run was intelligent, and Newcastle's centre-backs were caught napping by one of the best in the business. Darlow sprinted off his line but the England captain chipped it over his head to ensure Spurs' lead.
#4 Tottenham control the game with proactive forays
All of a sudden, Spurs stunned the home crowd into silence by establishing a strong foothold in the game.
They turned almost every wave of possession into goals after the half-hour mark. Following Kane's goal, they did not take their foot off the pedal, indicating resolve to come back from behind after going a goal behind early on, and then taking the attack to Newcastle for the rest of the game.
Overloading on the wings was a real feature of Tottenham's game, as it disturbed the Newcastle back line and created acres of space in dangerous areas. Just before the game was stopped due a medical emergency in the crowd, Lucas Moura struck the frame of goal by pouncing on a Son corner.
The latter then scalped his customary goal towards the end of the first-half. Once again, it was far too easy for Tottenham, who carved open Newcastle's defense courtesy of some brilliant defending from Moura.
The winger managed to get Kane in behind, who then slid it across the face of goal into Son. Tottenham's consistency and clear attacking plans infused fluidity and control into proceedings.
#5 Can Spurs finish in the top four this season?
Spurs have been blowing hot and cold this season. They did not concede in any of their first three outings, and were on top of the table heading into the first international break.
What followed was a series of uninspiring, characterless displays at both ends of the pitch as they were brushed aside by their noisy neighbors Arsenal.
They have now won three games on the trot and have looked far more promising going forward. Most visibly, Harry Kane is back on the score sheet in the Premier League. It's fascinating to note that he has netted six seven across this season but is still considered to be out of touch.
Tottenham are now back up to fifth, four points off leaders Chelsea. Spurs have the quality without any question, but under a new manager and alongside some of the best teams in Europe, a top-four finish would be considered a fantastic achievement.
