Tottenham 0-2 Newcastle: Spurs Show Improvement but Another Defeat Raises Questions

Tottenham’s difficult start to the Premier League season continued on Saturday as Roberto De Zerbi’s side suffered a 2-0 home defeat to Newcastle United.

Despite the result, this was a much-improved performance from Spurs compared with their 3-0 defeat to Brentford. Tottenham controlled large periods of the first half, created chances and looked far more comfortable in possession. The problem was that they couldn’t turn that control into goals.

A Promising First Half

De Zerbi made five changes and introduced Omar Marmoush for his first Premier League start. Tottenham generally operated in a 4-2-3-1, although their shape changed considerably in possession.

Pedro Porro was pushed much higher on the right, while Mateus Fernandes operated between the lines. Tottenham could often resemble a 2-3-5 when they moved forward, with the midfielders and full-backs rotating to create passing options.

It produced some promising football.

Marmoush showed good movement, Porro looked dangerous going forward and Tottenham repeatedly found ways through Newcastle’s midfield. The problem was the final action. Spurs had opportunities but couldn’t find the finish, while Newcastle goalkeeper Lukáš Horníček produced several important saves.

Newcastle Changed the Game

The second half was where everything changed.

Newcastle became more aggressive with their pressing and started finding space behind Tottenham’s midfield. Their direct approach also caused problems, with Anthony Elanga and Harvey Barnes looking to attack the spaces between Spurs’ full-backs and centre-backs.

The breakthrough arrived in the 62nd minute. Nico González picked out Amar Dedić with an excellent diagonal pass, Dedić headed the ball into Elanga’s path and the winger turned before producing an excellent finish.

Tottenham suddenly had to chase the game.

De Zerbi responded with changes, including Mohammed Kudus and Mikey Moore, but Newcastle were now controlling the momentum.

Ten minutes later, they doubled their advantage. Nick Woltemade flicked on a corner and Yoane Wissa reacted quickest, producing an excellent acrobatic finish. The bigger concern for Tottenham was the defending — Wissa was given far too much space inside the box.

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What Went Wrong for Spurs?

The biggest issue was efficiency.

Tottenham had promising possession and attacking sequences but lacked the cutting edge required to punish Newcastle. Once they conceded, their confidence also appeared to drop.

De Zerbi admitted afterwards that Tottenham’s mentality and organisation deteriorated after the first goal, with the distances between players becoming worse.

There were also concerns defensively. Newcastle repeatedly looked for quick switches and balls in behind, while Spurs struggled to maintain their shape once the game became more open.

This is something De Zerbi will need to fix quickly.

There Are Still Positives

It would be unfair to say Tottenham were completely poor.

The first half showed that there is a foundation for De Zerbi to build on. Marmoush looked promising, Mateus Fernandes provided creativity between the lines and Porro’s more advanced role gave Spurs another attacking outlet.

Kudus also returned from injury and immediately offered more energy, while the overall performance was considerably better than the Brentford defeat.

Newcastle were also extremely clinical. They scored twice from their strongest periods of the game while Tottenham failed to convert their opportunities.

Spurs Need More From Their Attack

However, Tottenham’s biggest priority has to be improving their forward line.

After two matches, Spurs have zero points and zero goals, despite spending heavily during the summer.

Marmoush, Kudus, Tel and the other attacking options have quality, but De Zerbi may need another versatile forward who can provide goals, create chances and give him more options when games aren’t going to plan.

That doesn’t mean Tottenham’s summer recruitment has failed. The squad is still adapting to a new manager and a significantly different style of football.

But they cannot afford to keep dominating spells of matches without finding the net.

The Bigger Picture

Tottenham are in a difficult position, but there were enough positives against Newcastle to suggest that the situation can improve.

The structure looked better, the possession was more purposeful and the team created opportunities.

Now De Zerbi needs to turn that improvement into results.

Spurs don’t need to panic after two games, but they do need to become more ruthless, more resilient and potentially add more attacking depth if they want to turn promising performances into points.