On their way to a 6-1 humiliation at a rocking St James' Park on Sunday, Newcastle United destroyed Premier League top-four rivals Tottenham Hotspur with a five-goal onslaught in the opening 21 minutes.
As fifth-placed Tottenham crumbled like a house of cards, a game that was regarded as a key six-pointer in the fight to seal Champions League qualifying was essentially finished before the clock had hit 10 minutes. Hugo Lloris mishandled a Joelinton shot in the second minute, setting up Jacob Murphy for the game's first goal. Four minutes later, Joelinton circled Lloris to score his team's second goal.
After Tottenham lost possession, Murphy scored Newcastle's third goal from a distance, and the crowd gasped in shock as Alexander Isak scored twice with precision in the space of two minutes to make it 5-0. The only club to take a five-goal lead earlier in Premier League history was Manchester City, which did it against Watford in the first 18 minutes of the match in 2019.
Champions League football sealed for Newcastle?
Many of the Tottenham supporters, who were seated in the Leazes Stand, left before halftime because they couldn't take any more humiliation. There was just one thing left to decide: whether Newcastle would record their biggest Premier League triumph, and whether Tottenham could avoid suffering their biggest league loss.
Harry Kane scored a consolation goal for Tottenham four minutes into the second half, but Callum Wilson scored Newcastle's sixth goal one minute after coming off the bench. Tottenham did better after the break, albeit it was difficult.
It was the ideal response by Newcastle to last week's 3-0 loss at Aston Villa and moved them one step closer to making their first appearance in the Champions League in 20 years.
Newcastle surpassed Manchester United to take third place with 59 points, six more than Tottenham in fifth place, who have played one more game and whose chances of finishing in the top four now appear to be all but gone.
Here is how fans reacted to the game:
https://twitter.com/lapaii123/status/1650165394693390337
https://twitter.com/gspurTHFC/status/1650165305031663617
https://twitter.com/strictlyfotball/status/1650165270193876992
https://twitter.com/logicfgs/status/1650129201402372096
https://twitter.com/TrollFootball/status/1650125036127174657
https://twitter.com/Newcastle_FC/status/1650125153743917056
https://twitter.com/ReplyGPT/status/1650136792929288194
https://twitter.com/justanodadot/status/1650126893335855105
https://twitter.com/yussouB/status/1650126878152294402
https://twitter.com/TheSpursWatch/status/1650150685772595201
https://twitter.com/LastWordOnSpurs/status/1650150869701214209
https://twitter.com/LastWordOnSpurs/status/1650150869701214209