Newcastle 2-1 Tottenham: Player ratings as Magpies claim victory over Spurs

Newcastle delivered a 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur at St James' Park on Sunday, remaining unbeaten in the Premier League.

Eddie Howe's side looked stronger for the majority of the game, while flashes of attack from Spurs threw Newcastle's win into jeopardy at points.

The Magpies head into the international break having not yet lost a match in the 2024/25 season, while Spurs face the daunting task of the highly-anticipated north London derby in two weeks.

How the game unfolded

Newcastle sprung into action early on, firing two strong shots towards Guglielmo Vicario between the sticks. Both Alexander Isak and Harvey Barnes were close to etching their names onto the scoresheet but were forced to wait as neither strike reached the back of the net.

Cristian Romero thought he would be the one to open up the scoreline for Tottenham, sending a strike past Nick Pope. The goal was immediately flagged for offside, keeping the scoreline level at 0-0.

Play was paused momentarily as assistant referee Ian Hussin noticed an issue with his hamstring. He traded places with fourth official Darren Bond and both sides flew back into action.

The break proved to be just what Spurs needed, charging into Newcastle's half to fire shot after shot towards Pope in goal. When the Magpies broke out of Spurs' capture, they once again proved they were a side to fear.

It was Barnes who eventually earned the goal he deserved, knocking the ball into the far corner of the net to make it 1-0 for Newcastle before the break.

Play resumed and Spurs powered through with something to prove. Their equaliser came soon, as Son Heung-min shot towards the net. Pope handed his opponent the chance to level the scoreline, shovelling the ball away before Dan Burn smashed it into the roof of his own net.

From there, it seemed to be all Spurs once again before the introduction of Jacob Murphy helped Newcastle surge back into the lead. The winger sprinted down the pitch with incredible pace, playing a well-timed ball to Isak who tapped it into the back of the net to make it 2-1.

The Magpies were able to cling onto their 2-1 lead, heading into the international break having not lost a game yet this season.

Newcastle player ratings (4-3-3)

GK: Nick Pope - 4/10 - Made some very impressive saves when Spurs camped outside the Newcastle goal but was regularly caught out with his bad footwork. Newcastle cannot play out from the back with Pope between the sticks. Made a huge mistake when trying to shovel the ball away, allowing Spurs to score.

RB: Tino Livramento - 6/10 - Looked lively in both defence and attack for the Magpies. Improved greatly as the game progressed.

CB: Emil Krafth - 5/10 - Had a solid shot that was flicked away for a corner, but looked sluggish and poor in defence. Krafth was lucky to come up against a team like Spurs without an outright striker.

CB: Dan Burn - 5/10 - Burn was the better of the two centre-backs and actually offered some pace against Spurs' attacking players. He did, however, get the blame for Spurs' equaliser after swinging the ball into the net.

LB: Lloyd Kelly - 7/10 - Kelly looked powerful and intelligent on the left side of the pitch. He provided a beautiful cross for Barnes' goal and contributed stunning passes throughout.

CM: Sean Longstaff - 5/10 - Longstaff was unreliable for the Magpies. He was often too slow and inaccurate when trying to play towards his teammates. Poor on the ball and lost possession too many times.

CM: Bruno Guimaraes - 5/10 - Seemed to have little influence on the game, especially to begin with.

CM: Joelinton - 7/10 - Joelinton made some silly decisions and picked up a wasteful yellow card, but did work hard to cover several areas of the pitch. His efforts in the second half were much better, creating stunning passes.

RW: Harvey Barnes - 8/10 - Stunning goal from Barnes, who deserved the chance to score after firing strong shots towards the box. Impressed with a strong press which shook Spurs and allowed the winger to play centrally.

CF: Alexander Isak - 6/10 - Isak had a strong chance early on but hit the woodwork. His efforts from there on out were slightly weak. Strong pace from the forward but wasted a chance to find Barnes and make it 2-0.

LW: Anthony Gordon - 6/10 - Gordon did well to get around the pitch but was quite ineffective in attack. Needed an injection of pace in order to bring excitement to Newcastle's attack.

Substitutes

SUB: Jacob Murphy (61' for Barnes) - 7/10

SUB: Sandro Tonali (68' for Longstaff) - 6/10

SUB: Lewis Hall (68' for Kelly) - 6/10

SUB: Miguel Almiron (94' for Gordon) - N/A

Subs not used: Martin Dubravka, Alex Murphy, Kieran Trippier, Matt Targett, William Osula.

Manager

Eddie Howe - 6/10 - Managed to secure a victory and chose well in starting Barnes.

Tottenham player ratings (4-3-3)

GK: Guglielmo Vicario - 5/10 - Made some good saves but also struggled with his feet. The keeper looked a little nervy against Newcastle, acting shaky when faced with any attack.

RB: Pedro Porro - 5/10 - Struggled to tightly defend but did fire balls up the pitch with immense power. Seemed to focus more on trying to score than doing his job in defence.

CB: Cristian Romero - 6/10 - Romero had an early goal immediately flagged for offside but continued to work hard on the pitch. Sometimes found it difficult to stay with his man, but did well to cover different areas of the pitch.

CB: Radu Dragusin - 7/10 - Fantastic tackle from Dragusin to deny a second Newcastle goal. The centre-back looked lively and strong throughout.

LB: Destiny Udogie - 4/10 - Gave away a cheap free kick which eventually led to Newcastle's opening goal. Poor defending from the 21-year-old who was often caught out of position.

CM: Pape Sarr - 6/10 - Sarr showed control shooting from a distance against Newcastle and proved to be quite a threat for Pope in goal.

CM: Yves Bissouma - 5/10 - Received a yellow card for a tough tackle but was otherwise silent against the Magpies.

CM: James Maddison - 5/10 - When Maddison started to play with more precision, Spurs looked stronger. He was, however, booed off the pitch when his substitution was made.

RW: Dejan Kulusevski - 5/10 - Kulusevski seemed to feel the pressure of playing in attack and allowed that pressure to mount. His comfortable position is clearly further back.

CF: Son Heung-min - 6/10 - Son is always a joy to watch, working hard in all areas of the pitch to drive Spurs forward. He was unfortunate not to score, but looked strong regardless.

LW: Wilson Odobert - 4/10 - Odobert struggled to get into the game and had no real impact. If he wants to improve, he needs to look at passing to his teammates to generate goals.

Substitutes

SUB: Brennan Johnson (46' for Sarr) - 7/10

SUB: Lucas Bergvall (82' for Maddison) - 5/10

SUB: Rodrigo Bentancur (82' for Bissouma) - 5/10

Subs not used: Fraser Forster, Archie Gray, Ben Davies, Djed Spence, Alfie Devine.

Ange Postecoglou - 5/10 - Made a good substitution in the form of Johnson but struggled to play the right players in both attack and defence. Spurs' backline needs to be worked out.